Blood Is Thicker Than Water
by missingJane
Summary: Enemies can hide for a long time, as patience is often their forte. This story takes place after Patrick and Teresa become man and wife. Teresa is working until her maternity leave begins, and Patrick is busy finishing up the cabin. This is a peaceful time in their lives, much to their mutual enjoyment. Little do they know that evil is just around the corner...
1. Flying Blind

**Enemies can hide for a long time, as patience is often their forte. This story takes place after Patrick and Teresa become man and wife. Teresa is working until her maternity leave begins, and Patrick is busy finishing up the cabin. This is a peaceful time in their lives, much to their mutual enjoyment. Stress and rampant evil have finally left the Jane family alone. Or has it? Rated M I think!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing related to the Mentalist. If I did we would be anticipating season 8 and a baby!**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 1 Flying Blind

(Happening now…)

The roar of the jet engines in flight was deafening. Muffled voices were drowned out by the constant rumble of the aircraft droning along. Patrick sat slumped over in a seat at the rear of the jet. There were only two other passengers flying with him, one right beside Patrick's lifeless body, and the other across the aisle, keeping a close watch on him. All other seats on the sleek private jet were empty. The sky outside the windows showed the sun starting its' descent for the day, as dusk overtook the world below.

Patrick's head lolled to one side, a burlap sack covering his head and face. His hands were zip-tied together in his lap, his seat belt very firmly holding his arms down so he could not manage an escape. He was unaware of his current situation, so deep was his drug induced sleep. All sensations and any sense of his precarious position were yet to assault him. An innocent trip to his favourite tea shop and a rendezvous with his lovely wife would have been the highlight of his day. But it was not meant to be. Meticulous planning and the workings of an outsized ego by an enemy Patrick did not know he had, aimed at bringing Jane to his knees. This careful planning was now paying dividends. The prize in this little exercise was deeply drugged and, for the moment, blissfully unaware of how tenuous his hold on life had suddenly become.

(That morning….)

Teresa had arrived at work right on time, as usual. All pleading and romantic overtures by her beautiful husband had failed to convince her to stay at home, or even arrive a little later than her normal punctual routine.

"Wifey, you are killing me here!" Patrick whined. "We only have a few weeks left with just the two of us, then I will be sharing you with our little boy. Stay home and play house with me!' he playfully pleaded, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Much as that sounds irresistible, I still have a commitment to the FBI until the end of the week. Once I get all my case files organized and coach my maternity leave replacement, I can play 'house' with you all day long" she replied, smiling at his theatrical look of heartbreak. She took a long approving look at her husband. While she still loved to see him in one of his well-tailored 3 piece suits, she was enjoying seeing Patrick these days in jeans and a tight t-shirt, or chino's and a pale blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up to expose his muscular arms.

Patrick had known all along that Teresa would not stay home yet, such was her loyalty to her team at the FBI office in Austin. She did look forward to sleeping in for a few last weeks before their much loved and much anticipated son arrived. Just a few more days and she and Patrick could be snugged up in bed until noon if they liked.

"Will you drop by the office later this morning for a visit Patrick?" she asked as she headed for the door.

"Absolutely! I am missing my couch. Must lay claim to it once more before some other agent dares to sit on it and ruin its' aura" he grinned.

"Your couch has an aura? Really? You're going with that lame premise?" Teresa teased.

"Oh yes, the Force is strong in that couch Teresa, as if you didn't remember some of our more powerful moments spent on it…" Patrick leered.

Teresa blushed and grinned. "You are incorrigible Mr. Jane. I would hope you were coming to visit _me_ at the very least!"

Patrick swept Teresa up into his arms and kissed her softly. Hugging her for a few moments, he broke away from her and looked deeply into her eyes.

"I will always come for you my love".

Teresa beamed, awash in the love they could finally express without reservation.

"I really have to get going. I'll wait to have lunch with you OK?"

"I'll be there. I just have to go to the tea shop first to stock up on some of my favourite blends before I'm up all night with Jane Jr. here" he smiled, gently stroking Teresa's large belly.

"Ok, bye. Don't be late! I am hungry all the time now, so lunch will be hard to wait for!" Teresa called as she sailed out the door. Patrick stood on the porch of their cabin watching as Teresa drove away, giving him a final wave goodbye.

Patrick turned and went back inside. He had a full morning of tinkering around the cabin to do, small bits of carpentry and painting. By the time their son arrived, he hoped the cabin would be completely finished. Humming to himself, Patrick started to clear away the breakfast dishes before he started his first project.

Time flew for Patrick as he had become completely immersed in his latest job, painting the nursery. Checking the time, he realized he was in danger of being late for his lunch with a very pregnant and very hungry wife. He quickly rinsed off his hands and resealed the paint can, and wrapped up his paint roller to use again later in the day. Whistling an old carny tune, he ran out to the odd little Citroen that he so dearly loved to drive and headed into downtown Austin. With luck he could pick up his tea and still make it to the office before Teresa started to eat lunch without him.

Patrick parked across the road from the tea shop that had become one of his favourite places in Austin. The staff at the shop knew him well by now and often had his favourite teas ready for him as he sauntered in. They were also keen to suggest new blends for him to try, knowing that he appreciated discovering new and exotic flavours.

Helene was his favourite "tea lady" and he looked forward to chatting with her for a few minutes before he had to get over to the FBI building. Patrick strolled into the shop and looked around, inhaling deeply, savouring the riotous scents of aromatic teas from around the world. Helene was not in her usual position behind the counter today. Standing in her place was a dark haired young woman of about 25 years old, a new face. Smiling broadly at Patrick, she seemed eager to help him.

"Good morning!" she chirped, taking in Patrick's handsome face with pleasure. "How can I help you today?"

"Good morning. Is Helene not working today?" asked Patrick with disappointment.

"Helene will be in later today, but I am new and in training, so I am afraid you will have to put up with me sir" the new girl explained. "I'm Silvia."

"Pleased to meet you Silvia!" smiled Patrick, fishing around in his pocket for a list he had made of the teas he wanted to buy. Finding it, he handed it to Silvia and asked her to package those loose teas up for him.

"Be glad to sir. While you are waiting, would you like to sample a new Tibetan Oolong blend that just arrived? I can give you a cup to try" beamed Silvia.

"Thank you, yes! That would be lovely" agreed Patrick, already liking this girl. She disappeared into the back of the shop and reappeared minutes later with a steaming cup of tea.

Patrick wandered around the shop sipping his tea while Silvia bagged his tea order. She wasn't as fast as Helene, but Patrick was forgiving since she was just learning the inventory of the shop. After sipping his tea for a few minutes, he found he was feeling a bit tired. Odd that he was tired so early in the day. 'Old man' he thought to himself as he peered out the front window of the little shop. Five minutes had passed and Silvia had disappeared into the back of the shop leaving Patrick alone. He noticed his toes were tingling, an odd numbness creeping into his feet. He moved to sit down at one of the small tables in the store, expecting the odd sensation to run its' course and soon end. He drank more of his tea and became aware of a lack of feeling in his fingers holding the teacup. He struggled to put it safely back into the saucer as his hands shook uncontrollably. He began to sweat and felt his legs losing feeling and strength. He tried to call out to Silvia, but found his voice was soft and weak. Feeling something akin to minor panic, Patrick tried to stand up to make his way back to the safety of his car, where his cellphone sat on the front seat. He managed to take one step before his legs collapsed under his own weight and he crashed into one of the small bistro tables, bashing his forehead against the edge of the table before hitting the floor. With a pounding heart, he looked up and around the shop, searching for Silvia to come and call for help, but she had disappeared. He could tell he had hurt his head but it was curiously devoid of the sharp pain he should be feeling. Numbness was rapidly overtaking his whole body and he found himself growing drowsier. Just as he felt himself slipping away into unconsciousness, he heard the tinkling of the bell on the front door of the shop as someone came in.

"Help me…." Patrick thought, as he slipped away into a drug-induced coma.

Two large men in dark suits stepped inside and locked the door. Wordlessly, they surveyed the room and moved over to where Patrick lay. Pushing the table and chairs away from his inert body, they turned him over and bent down to check on him. Patrick was out cold, eyes firmly shut and in no pain from the nasty cut on his forehead. His body was totally relaxed and would offer no resistance. Pleased with what they saw, they grabbed Patrick around the upper body and by his ankles and manhandled him through the shop and out the back door, where a large black van was waiting with the engine running. Silvia stood beside the van smoking a cigarette and watched as Patrick's body was unceremoniously dumped into the back of the van. A black hood was forced over his head and his hands and feet were secured with zip ties.

"What a shame... " she thought to herself ruthlessly, stubbing out her cigarette with her toe. "He was kinda cute…"

At a signal from the men in the van, she re-entered the shop, put a "Closed" sign in the window and came back out and climbed into the van. Nodding her signal that it was time to go, the van pulled away quietly and joined the general noon hour rush in downtown Austin.

(Noon hour…)

Teresa sat at her desk, staring at the clock on her laptop. Stomach growling furiously, she typed up one last report all the while muttering under her breath. Patrick was never late for one of their lunches together. He loved coming in to visit the old gang. He and Cho would discuss new cases with Patrick pretending not to be interested, but always willing to give Cho a new insight into the trajectory of the investigation. Then he would sweep Teresa out of the department with a flourish to surprise her with lunch in a newly discovered restaurant.

"Any time now Patrick!" Teresa thought for the hundredth time as the elevator doors did not slide open to reveal his silly grinning face. 20 minutes past the time Patrick said he would be there, Cho came out of his office with a case file in his hand.

"Patrick decide not to come in today?"

Teresa turned to look up at Cho and shook her head.

"No. Not that I know of. I was expecting him a while ago."

Cho nodded and started to turn back to his office.

"Well if he comes in, send him my way. I've got an interesting angle to my latest case he might want to discuss."

"Sure thing. See you later Cho" Teresa agreed. Picking up her cell phone, Teresa dialled Patrick's number. It rang and rang, but eventually went to voice mail.

"That's odd" she thought. Maybe he got talking to one of the regulars in the tea shop? Maybe he's stuck in traffic? But he would have called…. Suddenly a new thought occurred to Teresa. Maybe he is planning some elaborate prank and is waiting for her to fall into his trap unawares?

"Well if that is the case" she thought, "I'll just sit here until he gets so tired of waiting for me he gives up his silly game and comes up to the bullpen."

She was satisfied with this idea and so went back to her paperwork. One hour, two cups of coffee and a vending machine sandwich later, she was still at her desk working when Wylie got up from his desk and put on his jacket.

"See you tomorrow Teresa. I'm heading out early today. Still no Jane?"

"Nope. I'm just waiting him out. I think he was planning some stunt. But I can outlast him!" she grinned.

"Well good luck with that!" Wylie called as he headed for the elevator. "Let me know tomorrow what he came up with this time!"

Teresa nodded at Wylie and with a sigh shut down her laptop. Jane was taking too long. This wasn't fun anymore. She was giving up.

"Come on Jane!" she muttered to herself, getting her jacket and bag as she headed to the elevator. Taking out her phone, she called his number again. This time the line was dead. She couldn't even leave him a message to chew him out. She was feeling confused and uneasy, but pushed those feelings aside. Maybe he didn't plan anything at all. Perhaps he just got busy back at the cabin and didn't realize his phone had died. She got into her car and pulled away. Whatever had delayed Patrick, she was sure he would have a good story to tell her when she finally got home.

 **Well the summer is pretty much over and it was time I started to write again. Welcome back readers, and hello to any new readers out there. If you are new, check out my other story "And Their World Came Tumbling Down". Patrick doesn't know yet what is happening, but his blissful state is soon going to change. Teresa and the rest of the FBI will have to work fast to find Patrick and his captor before it is too late. Time is short! Next chapter soon I hope.**


	2. All We Have Is Our Memories

****A simple trip to a tea shop has started a chain reaction of fear, danger and perhaps death. Teresa's peaceful days are going to come to a crashing halt at any moment. Who would want to harm Patrick now?****

 ** **Disclaimer: I own none of these characters. They are the babies of Bruno Heller.****

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 2 All We Have Is Our Memories

The tightly bound body in the seat had not moved in almost 3 hours. The large silent man positioned next to Patrick got up to check on his prisoner, concerned that if too much of the drug was ingested, it might be killing their prize. He stood over his captive and lifted the hood slightly. Patrick's eyes were firmly shut, his mouth dry and flaky, but when prodded with the end of a gun to the ribs, a slight moan escaped from his mouth. Satisfied that Jane would survive the flight, the guard dropped the hood back down over the prisoner's head and returned to his seat.

Patrick's hands and feet were tingling. It was the odd, painful tingle that comes from sleeping or sitting in a confined space restricting blood flow to a limb. In this case the pain building in his hands and feet was due to the cramped space at the back of the jet, the exit of the sedative from his bloodstream, and the too-tight zip ties on his wrists. As physical awareness was incrementally returning to his body, his brain was also waking up. The drug was finally wearing off, leaving Patrick both in extreme pain and mentally confused. He could now hear the jet engines, and sleepily wondered how he had managed to fall asleep on a plane.

"Why am I flying somewhere?" he thought, trying to make sense of the foggy state of his memory. "Is Teresa with me?" he worried.

Awakening to his surroundings more fully, he opened his eyes only to see blackish filtered light. He jolted upright when he realized his head was covered with a sack of some sort. He tried to reach up to remove it, but his hands were tightly bound together, restrained by a seatbelt. His heart rate sped up as he tried to sort out his inexplicable situation. The questions quickly forming in his mind rushed at him in a jumble, "where am I? how did I get on a plane? what day is it? why am I trussed up like a criminal?"

As he tried to think through each question, he suddenly remembered a quote that he had long ago disregarded. Didn't Dennis Abbott once tell him he would have preferred that Patrick return home to the States as a prisoner with a sack over his head? Could Abbott be fulfilling some wish left behind on the island? No. NO! This was not delayed retribution from Dennis. They were good now, friends - equals!

This was …. something else.

Patrick sensed movement close by. Another person? He turned his head and spoke.

"Hello? Any one there?" he quipped lightly.

No reply.

"Can you at least grunt so I know you are real and not just extra baggage?" he tried again.

Nothing.

The stillness all around him, except for the loud droning of the engines, unnerved Patrick. He was having a hard time sorting out his thoughts. He decided to try to construct a timeline in his mind. What was the last thing he remembered that made sense? Patrick calmed himself down with some breathing exercises, and then started to open the doors of his memory palace.

He clearly saw Teresa's lovely face smiling at him…. at breakfast? On what day? Maybe today, or was it yesterday? Patrick had no way of knowing how long he had been unconscious. It may only have been a couple of hours, and it may have been a few days if he was being continuously drugged. Think Patrick! Think! He had no way of telling the passage of time, but gradually his body told him in a most unmistakable way. He felt the need to use the men's room. If that was the case, he could not have been unconscious for more that 4 or 5 hours at the very most. OK, this all went down today. Good news, except for having to pee….. He would have to address that issue very soon.

Trying once again to reconstruct his day mentally, he conjured up memories of a typical day. These days he would get up with Lisbon, eat breakfast with her and then work around the cabin. He would make himself a lunch and then spend some time sitting and thinking down by the pond. Several times a week he would arrange to meet Teresa at the office and then go for lunch somewhere interesting in Austin. Once a week he would visit his favourite tea shop and buy his supply from Helene, nice girl, knowledgeable about unusual teas, and friendly. Something stirred in his memory. He tried to reach back into it and find whatever was not feeling right about this line of thought.

Helene, the tea shop. Helene…

Helene was not there today. She was not working when he dropped in at the tea shop. There was someone new there instead. In training she said, happy to help you she said, here have a sample of this new Tibetan Oolong tea sir….

Heart pounding in fear, he tried staying with the feeling as well as the memory of this train of thought. Patrick had a flash vision of falling to the floor and looking around for help. The door opened with a bell ringing, and then… he was on this jet. At least the mystery of his abduction was revealing itself to him. That girl, Silvia, she must have spiked his tea with the drug that was so debilitating. But why?

Fully awake and very uncomfortable now, Patrick felt like he was suffocating. The air he had to breathe through that foul sack was stale and damp. He dearly wished he could just yank it off and take a lungful of clean cool air. His mouth felt like cotton and his throat was unnaturally dry.

"Any chance I could have some water and visit the john?" he called out to anyone close by.

Still no reply from his silent watchers. This was getting annoying, so it was time to take matters into his own hands, or feet. Lifting his foot he kicked out to the right, where he felt the presence of someone or something. His shoe connected with a shin bone and he heard a loud curse in an unknown language spring from a man very close by. Before he could celebrate his small victory at detecting his bodyguard, a fist pounded into his midsection, catching him by surprise. Doubling over in pain, he gasped for breath. Waiting to see if more blows were to follow, he was surprised when the sack over his face was lifted up slightly, just to his nose. Then he got a faceful of cold water, none of which he managed to swallow. The sack was then dragged back over his face and silence resumed.

Feeling vulnerable, and scared, Patrick decided to give it one more try regardless of the danger to himself.

"I have to use the men's room. You should let me go or it is going to get very messy here. Your choice. I can only wait so long, and my time is pretty much used up. And you won't like the end result if you ignore me much longer."

Hoping his bodyguards understood his English, he sat waiting for their decision. Mumbled conversation confirmed his suspicion that they did indeed speak English and now had to make a decision on their own. There was no one to tell them what to do. There was much quiet discussion and just when Patrick thought he would burst, his seatbelt was roughly unclipped and he was hauled to his feet and dragged down the aisle to a small bathroom. His hands were kept zip-tied but his burlap sack was quickly removed as he was shoved into the small bathroom. The door was slammed shut and secured from the outside, leaving Patrick free at last to take a deep breath of real unfiltered air. He quickly relieved himself and washed his hands as best he could while they were tied together. He glanced up into the mirror and saw his haggard reflection staring back at him. He had dried blood crusted around an ugly gash in his forehead, and chalky dried skin on his lips. He was a pale grey colour, most likely a result of the drug. He turned on the taps again and splashed cool water on his face and neck, not knowing if he would get another chance to feel clean again. Not caring whether or not the water was safe to drink, Patrick cupped his hands and gathered as much cold water as he could, drinking it greedily while he had the opportunity. While he was drying himself off his bodyguards started banging on the door and shouting at him to get out. Now! Patrick tried to delay his exit from the relative peace of the small bathroom but knew it was just a matter of time before the door would be yanked open and he would be dragged back out. Sighing heavily, he looked around for anything he could use to help himself in the future. He took a wad of paper towels and folded them quickly and put them in the pocket of his pants. He found some small packets of soap and toothpaste in a small compartment and took them as well. Turning his attention to the room itself, there were shelves and cupboards which were, unfortunately, empty. Fearing his time was almost up, Patrick quickly took to one of the shelves and tried to pry one of the screws loose, using the edge of his thumbnail as a tiny screwdriver. With much work and panic he managed to loosen it enough that with some vigorous turning he got one out and pocketed it before the door was almost torn off its' hinges by a very large and very angry man. Patrick pulled his hands up in front of his face and tried to protect his midsection with his elbows as a blow landed in his ribcage, knocking the air out of his lungs. As he began to crumple to the floor he was half dragged, half carried out of the tiny space and blindfolded with a thick black strip of cloth before he got a good look at his abductors. But he was free of the burlap sack! It was a very small victory but he was elated in the change in his condition as a prisoner. The bodyguards made a point of dragging him down the aisle in a way that caused him to be slammed into every seat on his way to the back of the jet. By the time they got back to their seats, Patrick was bruised and had a sharp pain in his ribs. Hoping it was just a bruise and not a broken rib, Patrick offered no resistance as he was once again forced into his seat and his hands were secured under the very tight seat belt once more. He had done all he could do under the circumstances. The rest of the trip would have to unfold as his captors had planned.

With no idea now how long it would be until the jet landed, Patrick decided to conserve his energy and try to sleep. Whoever took all this trouble to kidnap him obviously wanted him to live for a while yet. He might as well arrive at his destination well rested. Having made up his mind that he could do no more to ameliorate his situation, Patrick dozed lightly. His general discomfort and damaged ribs prevented a deep sleep but at least he could feel a bit more rested.

Some time later, as the sound of the engines changed in volume, he became aware of the jet dropping lower in the sky and banking slightly. He realized they were beginning their descent. Perhaps he would soon know just who was behind his abduction very soon. He just hoped that learning the identity of this person would not be the last thing he ever discovered.

 **Well at least whoever took Patrick seems to want him to arrive alive. Is he in America still, or did they fly overseas? When Teresa and the team at the FBI finally learn what has happened, it will take all of their efforts to find Patrick before his time runs out. Next chapter when I can manage it. Thank you for all the lovely reviews. They spur me on to write more each day!**


	3. Who's The Boss Now?

**Thank you to all who reviewed! I will try to keep the updates coming. Patrick is in a difficult situation, but he has already managed to improve his comfort level as a prisoner. Teresa is just beginning her odyssey of discovering who took her husband, and why.**

 **Disclaimer: The show is just a memory now, but thanks to Bruno Heller, we can still share in the fun of The Mentalist!**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 3 Who's The Boss Now?

Teresa got to the lobby and was dismayed to see just the regular security guard and receptionist. There was no wickedly grinning Patrick, no weird stunt elaborately staged out front. She sighed and pushed through the double doors and headed for her car feeling disappointed and increasingly worried. She decided to make a quick call to Cho to see if her wayward husband had called Cho for some reason. Teresa poured out her concerns for Patrick and his whereabouts to Cho and he was surprised by his consultant's continued absence. Trying to keep Teresa calm, he told her he would put a tracer on the GPS unit in Patrick's car. There was nothing more to be done, so Lisbon started on her way home.

She left the FBI parking lot and headed into downtown Austin almost on autopilot, so deep in thoughts focussed on her husband that she almost missed seeing his car. At the last moment, as she looked up and saw his favourite tea shop, she realized his car was still parked at the curb. Muttering under her breath in renewed annoyance, she pulled over and parked across the street. She slowly walked over to the shop, hands on her large belly and telling her baby that Daddy better have a darned good reason to have stood her up. When she got to the shop, there was a "Closed" sign hanging in the window. This was odd, considering the hours posted clearly indicated the shop should have been open until 8 that night. Teresa turned back and made her way over to Patrick's car again and tried the door handle, fully expecting it to be locked. To her surprise, the driver's side door was unlocked and when she looked inside, Patrick's cell phone was still laying on the front passenger seat. Teresa looked up and down the street trying to spot him. Where would he go? And why leave the car unlocked and his phone discarded? Now she was well and truly worried. He had not just wandered off for a moment. This event, whatever it was, had happened much earlier in the afternoon. She got out her phone and called Cho once more. He answered on the third ring.

"Where did you find him Teresa? And I hope the story is a good one!" smiled Cho into the phone.

"Cho, listen to me! I found Patrick's car!"

"Okay… is everything alright Teresa?" Cho asked cautiously.

"No! Cho, he's missing. The car is still here outside the tea shop, unlocked and Patrick's cell phone is on the front seat. The tea shop is closed but should still be open. Cho, I think he's been kidnapped!"

"There could be a perfectly reasonable explanation for the situation that doesn't involve someone taking Patrick. Let's check it out before you get too upset, Ok Lisbon? Stay there and I will come with some of my forensic guys and we will check the car and the shop. Don't touch anything. See you soon Teresa."

"Thank you Cho. I'll be waiting."

Teresa flipped her phone shut and walked back over to the shop. As she stood waiting outside, a woman walked up and started to open the door.

"Please don't do that Ma'am" Teresa told her. "This is a possible crime scene and we can't disturb anything."

"A crime scene? But I am supposed to be working in the next few minutes!" exclaimed the woman with shock. "Why is the "closed" sign on the door? We shouldn't be closed yet!"

Teresa could see the sincerity in the woman's face and decided to start her own investigation with this woman.

Showing the clerk her ID badge, Teresa identified herself by name and started to question her.

"Can you tell me your name Ma'am?"

"Why sure, I'm Helene Simmons, and I work here at this tea shop. Excuse me, but did you say your name is Teresa Jane?"

"Yes ma'am. Do we know each other?" Teresa asked.

"Oh no, not really, but I know your husband Patrick. He is one of our regular customers and he is a sweetie. We love him here! He speaks so well of you and his excitement over the birth of his little boy!"

Teresa couldn't help but smile at hearing this. She could well imagine Patrick regaling the staff with stories about her and her pregnancy, such was his pride.

"How can I help you Agent Jane?" said Helene, interrupting Teresa's thoughts.

"What can you tell me about the shop, its' staff, clientele, anything that might seem out of place or unusual about today."

Helene nodded her head at the question and had an answer for Teresa on the tip of her tongue.

"Today was a mixed up day for sure. I was supposed to open up as usual, and work until around 3ish, then our other girl would come in and relieve me. But I got an email from our boss telling me that he had hired a new girl, Silvia, and she would be starting today and that I should just stay home and work the late shift. I can tell you I wasn't happy about that at such short notice!"

"How could a new girl run the shop with no training?" asked Teresa.

"The email said she was transferring in from another store so she would know the inventory and how the computer worked, she was a self-starter it said." Helene seemed less than impressed with her boss and the idea of the new girl usurping her role.

As Teresa was taking notes, two large SUVs pulled up and Cho and his team stepped out. Teresa smiled at her dear friend, relieved that a full investigation could now begin.

"Cho, this is Helene, she works here but tells me that a new person, Silvia, was helicoptered in without her previous knowledge. Now the shop is locked and no one is inside. Sounds fishy to me."

Nodding a polite greeting to Helene, Cho directed his men to open the lock and search the shop. Teresa took Helene aside and continued to question her. Upon entering the shop, Cho saw the overturned bistro table and chairs and stepped closer. Pointing at the obvious blood stains on the floor and the edge of the table, Cho's hairs stood up in alarm on the back of his neck.

"I want full fingerprinting of the shop, gather evidence, bag that cup and saucer over there, and send those blood samples for analysis. Turn this place inside out fellas. One of our own is missing."

Nodding their assent, the team got busy dusting for prints and bagging evidence. Cho directed another team over to check the back of the shop carefully as the staff, or fake staff, would have lingered there until Patrick arrived. Perhaps this Silvia was not careful enough not to leave a trace of her time there.

"Cho, we need to speak to the owner of the shop and verify that he sent those emails to Helene. Either he is part of this or he got hacked. Either way, this took some planning."

"On it, good thinking. We can have his computer brought in and our guys will take it apart. If he didn't send those emails, maybe we can trace the origins and nail this guy."

Cho directed his team and remained on scene while Teresa wound up her questioning of Helene. She had supplied Teresa with the name and phone number of the owner of the tea shop. Teresa finished up, and seeing there was nothing more she could do to help, she got in her car and headed home at last. Forensics would not be finished analysing the blood samples and running the fingerprints for a while. Hard as it would be, she needed to go home and rest. The method of Patrick's disappearance would soon be discovered, but by then, he was far far away.

The jet dropped lower in the sky and Patrick braced for a landing, and then? He had no idea what to expect next. The jet landed 10 minutes later and as it taxied to a stop, he felt the same large hands unbuckle his seatbelt and grab his upper arms in a vice-like grip. He was jerked up to a standing position and forced out of his seat and into the aisle. He felt someone large slip in front of him and pull him by his cuffed hands along the aisle towards the door of the jet. As the door opened slowly, Patrick inhaled the fresh air greedily. It smelled fresh and damp, of earth and open spaces. It was maddening to be blindfolded. He had no idea where he was, how long exactly he had been airborne, and as his silent guards refused to speak, he could not get a sense of an accent or regional dialect. So who were these guys?

He was roughly guided down the steps and then felt himself hoisted up once again, thrown unceremoniously into a van.

"Not again" he thought. Unfortunately he had been kidnapped a few times before and usually ended up in the back of some kind of van, bouncing painfully along a road that always left him black and blue with bruises. A water bottle was thrust into his hands and he drank gratefully. He didn't attempt to speak to his captors anymore. They were the drones, the worker bees, minions who would follow orders to the letter as set out by their feared superior.

Thirst quenched, Patrick contented himself with listening to the sound of the vehicle and any street noises that entered the vehicle. Something might be useful might be found in those sounds in the future he hoped. Snatches of music came and went. Were they driving past bars or clubs? Stopping at red lights, he strained to hear something to mark the spot, but there was nothing. After 20 minutes of highway driving, he felt the van pull off the main road and speed up. The surface of the road was bumpy and uneven, a country road most likely. Dismayed by this, he felt his chances of escaping and finding help were diminished by his rural destination. A good 30 minutes later, the van slowed down and stopped. The doors slid open and the large hands latched onto his arms and dragged him out onto the ground. He landed on his injured ribs and couldn't contain a moan of pain. He thought he heard a slight snicker from one of his handlers and was sorry to have given him that small pleasure. Before he could recover from his fall, he was hauled up and quickly pulled along, barely getting his feet under himself.

They stopped at a building, wood he surmised sniffing the air, and when the large door slid open, he was dragged inside.

This was definitely a barn, judging from the animal smells emanating from the interior. He was pulled by his upper arms and dragged backwards like a heavy sack until he slammed up against a wooden wall. His blindfold slipped slightly and he vainly tried to peek underneath it to see what if anything could be useful to him. His silent guardians then cut the zip ties off his wrists and threw them away. Quickly rubbing his wrists to restore circulation, Patrick hoped the blindfold would come off next. Just as he started to feel the blood flow trickling back into his fingertips, his hands were grabbed and tied again, then hoisted over his head and attached to an overhead beam. He stood there contemplating his new accommodations and his inability to sit down, when he heard footsteps approaching. His blindfold was finally ripped off and he looked around his new prison.

It was a very old barn, at least 90-100 years old. Two large men with shaved heads, wearing grey suits and carrying sidearms, stood on either side of him. He looked at each of them and realized he recognized at least one of them. At the moment he couldn't place the face, but he was confident he would dip into his memory palace and find the information he needed. If given the time…

The footsteps advanced and he turned his attention to his newest visitor. Much to his surprise, he was being sized up by a very tall, dark haired woman. She was impeccably dressed in the latest European fashion, and exuded confidence. She was not pretty, or even attractive in the tabloid sense, but she was handsome, striking even. She appeared to be around 50, but today age was so difficult to determine. She was clearly in charge, and the men beside him stood a little straighter when she entered.

Patrick decided to hold his tongue. This was not the time for one of his smart ass remarks. The woman stepped closer to her prisoner and looked Jane up and down. He had no idea who she was but he was certain he would soon have all the answers he needed.

She raised her right hand and slowly placed it on Patrick's cheek, caressing him softly. Raising her eyes, she saw the ugly gash in his forehead and the remaining blood on his face. She gently touched the wound as he flinched, then she turned her gaze on the two bodyguards.

"How did this happen?" she purred.

They looked at Patrick and then each other, fear clearly evident on their faces. How to answer for this injury to her prisoner?

One of the men spoke up and gave her a curt explanation in a foreign language. She nodded and turned back to look at Patrick. She was not smiling any longer and he felt that one or both of the men would soon be suffering the repercussions of his unguarded fall. And what was that language he spoke and she understood? Not Russian, definitely. Czech perhaps? Lavtian? Patrick prided himself on his ability to spot foreign languages but these eastern languages sometimes were hard to pinpoint. Serbian? Could be. So who from the Eastern block nations hated him so much to take this much trouble to kidnap him? Before he could think about it anymore, the woman raised her hand again and placed it on his cheek, letting it linger there.

"So Mr. Jane, I finally have the pleasure of meeting you. I must say I am not disappointed. You are as attractive as Erica Flynn promised."

Patrick looked at the woman with renewed interest. Erica Flynn was part of this? His mind was reeling with this new fact.

"Erica had told me long ago about the most intelligent man she had ever met, but I didn't believe her. I thought the most intelligent man I ever knew was my brother. Could she be mistaken Mr. Jane?"

Patrick's mind was racing. What is the accent, how is Erica connected to this obviously Eastern European woman of wealth and education, and who is her brother. A cartel leader? Drug dealer? Accent….. accent….

He decided to speak and test the waters.

"I am sorry if I don't appreciate the welcome I got here, but I am a bit confused, tired and hungry." he said cautiously. "And apparently I know your brother?"

The woman removed her hand from Patrick's face and came a step closer. Before he could prepare himself, she drew back her hand and slapped him hard across the face, sending his head snapping back painfully.

"Yes Mr. Jane. You spent some time as the guest of my brother in his suite of rooms. Perhaps you remember your near drowning earlier in the year? And a list of words?"

Patrick's ears were ringing but he heard the word drowning and list, and a cold dread came over him.

"Beirut. It was in Beirut wasn't it?"

"Very good Mr. Jane, very good indeed. You were in Beirut earlier this year with your lovely wife, well girlfriend then, but let's not quibble over small details. You outplayed my brother, Jan Nemic and his greedy little whore Erica Flynn. Erica deserved to go back to jail where she should have been all along, but Jan, he was just a businessman. You should not have involved yourself in our affairs Mr. Jane."

Patrick tried to remain calm and look unworried, but felt the complete opposite. These were dangerous people and he would have to use every skill he had to come out of this alive.

"Well I must say Jan has a very lovely sister. I am pleased to meet you, miss...?" he beamed, hoping his charm would help to save his life.

"That doesn't work with me Mr. Jane. Don't insult my intelligence. My brother got to where he was because of me. You and the FBI seriously compromised our business network both in the U.S. and in Europe. You have cost me billions of dollars."

"I'm sorry, I had no idea…" Patrick shrugged contritely.

She turned suddenly and started to walk away. When she got to the door she stopped and looked at Patrick again.

"Apology not accepted. But you will have a chance to make it up to me."

Sensing a chance to negotiate, Patrick perked up.

"And how can I do that?" he asked.

She smiled cruelly and replied in a soft purr.

"Very easily. By dying."

She dropped her smile and walked out the door, followed closely by the two stoic bodyguards.

Patrick felt his stomach lurch. He was in serious trouble here. Wherever here was.

He just wanted to go home.

 **Well well well. Jan Nemic has a sister and she is furious with Jane for his part in capturing her brother in Beirut. If you have not seen that episode in the final season of The Mentalist, it is called Orange Blossom Ice Cream. It was a goodie! Thanks for reading. Reviews are very welcome! Was it who you expected or did you think the kidnapper would be someone else?**


	4. Building a Case

**Time is ticking away slowly for Patrick. He has to hold out for as long as possible, to find some way to get out of the barn and on his way to freedom. But with no one on his side, how can he do it?**

 **Disclaimer: The Mentalist is still not mine, and never will be. Bummer.**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 4 Building a Case

The barn door slammed shut as Patrick watched the as yet unnamed woman leave with her two minions. Finally alone, he let his guard down and felt fully how exhausted and scared he really was. Flexing his hands he tried to determine if he could get free from his bonds, but the height of the beam and the unrelenting zip ties cutting into his wrists had proved impossible to overcome. With nothing else at the moment to distract him, Patrick decided to use this time to go over all of the events of the last few hours to try to make sense of it somehow.

Jan Nemic had been a powerful man before the FBI shut him down. Trained and financed by the Russian Mafia, born in Slovakia, and headquartered in Beirut, he was something of an enigma until Erica Flynn had brought the FBI and Patrick into Jan's orbit. The existence of a sister involved in his crime syndicate was completely unknown to the investigators. Such a well kept secret, and her apparent lofty position in this crime family revealed to Patrick her power and influence. She was invisible to international law enforcement, and as such could move easily around the globe, cutting deals with unsavory regimes in unstable countries, as well as conducting more traditional criminal exploits. Perhaps the whole passport chip scam that Jan was running out of Beirut had been her idea? She was the true mastermind of that program? Why was Patrick still alive? Surely she wanted something else from him instead of his imminent death? It was now clear to him that she could have had him killed at any time back in Austin and finding her would have been next to impossible. Instead she took her time to plan his kidnapping, transporting him via private jet to this remote location. Just to kill him now? No, something else was at play here, Patrick felt sure of it, and with that new realization, he felt a slight decrease in his fear of dying soon. Maybe this was his leverage, her unexplained reason for keeping him alive so long. Could this be his chance to survive?

Patrick knew that the FBI would be searching for him now, Teresa would see to that. He envisioned her worried face and a surge of anger swept over him. Nemic's sister could do what she wanted with him, but causing Teresa anguish was unforgivable. She needed peace and quiet in her remaining weeks of pregnancy, not fear and uncertainty that the father of her baby might not come home again. Anger sent a surge of adrenaline coursing through Patrick's body. He would have to use every trick he had ever learned to talk his way out of this situation and back to Teresa.

Glancing around the barn, he relaxed and decided to wait and see what Ms. Nemic had planned for him next. He hoped he would soon find out.

XXXXXXXXXX

Instead of going home to rest, Teresa headed back to the office to wait for news from the forensic team. Wylie was watching security camera footage from the shop and surrounding businesses when she arrived. So far nothing unusual had caught his attention. When the elevator doors opened and Wylie saw Teresa walk towards her desk, he couldn't resist the urge to tell her to just go home and rest.

Teresa smiled bleakly at him and shook her head. "You know I can't do that. I can't go home and lie down and just forget what has happened. I'll try to rest on Jane's sofa and then if anything does come up, I will already be here. Sound good Wylie?' she smiled weakly.

"Umm… yeah.. I guess so…" he lamely agreed.

He watched her walk slowly over to the soft old couch that Jane so dearly loved. He said nothing and felt like a voyeur as he watched her drop her bag and bend over, running her hands along the back of the leather couch. She turned and slowly lowered herself and her large belly onto the seat cushion and then lifted her legs tiredly and reclined. Her head rested back on the armrest where her husband always lay, and she detected his unmistakable scent now so firmly worn into the leather. She inhaled deeply and was overcome with a sense of sadness and worry. Turning on her side away from Wylie, she needed to hide her moment of weakness from any prying eyes.

Wylie spent another moment staring at her small form on the couch and then snapped out of his reverie, turning once again to the security footage on his laptop. The street outside the tea shop had been quiet and nothing odd showed in the footage. He clearly saw Patrick drive up and enter the shop. Some time later, two large men with their heads bent down to conceal their faces came around the side of the building, checked the street for anyone lurking closed by, and entered the front door. They certainly weren't there to buy tea thought Wylie. Soon after, a small hand turned the sign in the window to read "closed" and then nothing more happened until Lisbon arrived on scene. It was obvious the two men in suits were part of the kidnapping, but it would take much work, possibly fruitless work, to try to determine who they were. Wylie decided he would have more luck discovering more about the mysterious Silvia, especially after Cho and Teresa spoke to the owner of the shop.

As if reading his mind, Teresa rolled over and spoke to him.

"Can you see the face of the new girl in any of the footage?"

Wylie peered intensely at his screen. "No, she is always just out of range."

Lisbon sat up, her interest peaked. "Why would a new worker do that?"

Cho had entered the room quietly and joined in the conversation.

"Maybe she was a plant, someone put there to get to Patrick first, to set up the abduction."

Teresa noticed Cho looked grim. She felt a cold finger of caution trace her spine and she was afraid of what he was going to say next. Sitting up, she asked the question anyway.

"What is it Cho? You've found something haven't you?"

Cho nodded, then sat down next to Teresa.

"What are you doing here Teresa? You should be home resting. You and the baby don't need this stress, not now." He looked at her with genuine care and affection, worried for her well-being.

"Cho, I am resting here, but I need to be close to the investigation. Tell me… what did your team find out back there in the shop?"

Cho looked at her with admiration and knew he couldn't hide any of the facts from her for long. Shaking his head, he stood up and paced the room.

"Forensics report that the cup found on the floor had Patrick's fingerprints all over it. He was there today. There were also some other fingerprints on the cup, but so far we can't trace them to anyone in our database. The person apparently has no criminal record."

He looked at Teresa and knew a question was coming.

"Anything else I don't already know Cho?"

"Forensics has confirmed that there was residue on the inside of the cup indicating the tea Patrick drank was heavily drugged. It was a powerful mix of muscle relaxants and a knockout drug. He would have been completely incapacitated, paralyzed, and then he would have become unconscious. Based on the strength of the mix, he would have been out for hours."

Teresa sat back on the couch and contemplated this new information. She could see Patrick in her imagination, drinking tea and being amiable, until he became immobilized and weak, unable to call for help, at the mercy of whoever wanted him. Tears gathered in her eyes and she quickly wiped them away.

"Anything else Cho?" she asked unsteadily.

Cho stole a glance at Wylie, and then faced Teresa.

"Yes. The blood on the scene. We tested it. It belongs to Patrick."

Teresa glared at Cho and nodded numbly. Standing and holding her belly, she closed her eyes for a moment, trying to remain strong. Turning to her oldest and dearest friend, she gathered herself up to her full, tiny height and squared her shoulders.

"Then let's get the bastards who took Patrick, and let's bring him home."

With that she headed to the conference room, without a backward glance. Cho looked at Wylie with a smirk and followed Teresa.

"Call me when Mr. Eagleson arrives. He is the owner of the tea shop."

Wylie nodded and turned back to his laptop. Every day spent with Cho and Teresa was an education in courage and great police work. He felt honoured to be a part of their world.

Cho pulled a chair out for Teresa and she sat down, glad to be off her feet again. He joined her and folded his hands, waiting for her to begin.

"Someone planned this Cho. Someone has been studying Patrick for a long time, his habits, his routines, his life with me. This kidnapping has been a long time in coming" she stated.

Cho took out his notebook and started to write. "We need to go back over the last 6 months of cases that Patrick worked on. Who would have a strong enough motive and the ability to seek this type of retribution against him?"

"That could be almost everyone he has put behind bars and their extended families" murmured Teresa, almost to herself. Just then her baby gave her a powerful kick and she grasped her belly and doubled over.

Cho jumped up and came to her side.

"You ok? Do you need anything?" he asked, slightly panicked.

"I'm fine. Jane Jr. here is just making himself known and wants to see his Daddy."

Teresa looked at Cho, cop written all over her face.

"Let's find out who did this, and not let the little guy down."

Cho smiled and returned to his chair.

"Ok then. Let's do that…"

And the two of them brainstormed for the next few minutes until Wylie announced the arrival of Mr. Eagleson. The owner of the tea shop was ushered into an interrogation room and sat down at the table. He was a slight man with a balding head, his glasses sliding down his nose caused by his profuse sweating due to nerves. Being in the FBI building was an overwhelming experience for Mr. Eagleson, and he felt he might faint at any minute. Cho and Lisbon came in and sat down opposite him. Once introductions were out of the way, Eagleson couldn't contain his worry and curiosity.

"What's all this about? I'm innocent! Why am I here under arrest? I'm a good man! I…. " he sputtered, wiping his face with a handkerchief.

Cho mercifully cut him off to put him out of his misery.

"Mr. Eagleson, relax! Take a deep breath!"

Eagleson closed his mouth and did as he was told. Lisbon felt sorry for him, he was clearly terrified. She leaned forward and tried to speak soothingly to him.

"Mr. Eagleson, I'm Agent Teresa Jane, and this is Senior Agent Kimball Cho. You are not under arrest. You have been brought in here for questioning in relation to a crime which took place earlier today."

Eagleson relaxed a tiny bit and looked confused.

"But how can I help you? I just run a few tea shops around Austin."

"Mr. Eagleson, did you send an email to your employee Helene Simmons asking her to come in later today because a new employee was working the early shift?" Cho asked.

The man blinked and shook his head vigorously. "No! No, not at all! Helene is one of my most valued employees and I prefer that she work the early shift from 8 am until 3pm, our busiest time of the day."

Cho wrote in his notebook and then looked up. "So you did not send Helene an email?"

"No Sir, and I did not hire anyone new either! We are well staffed and I would never send someone new out to a shop without discussing it with the current staff."

"We have your computer and will verify your story. If you sent the email, and deleted it, we will find it Sir" said Teresa evenly.

"Search all you want, I didn't sent it."

"Has anyone contacted you recently concerning your hiring practices, how you run your shops, how you staff your various locations? Anything that you would consider odd?" asked Cho.

Eagleson shook his head, not thinking of anything or anyone.

"Um no, or maybe, not that I can be sure, but you know... " he mumbled, mostly to himself. "We don't attract much in the way of weirdos at my tea shops. Ours is more of a genteel crowd if you know what I mean" smiled the now much calmer man. Teresa grinned inwardly at the thought of Patrick being called genteel. 'Oh brother!'.

Suddenly Mr. Eagleson sat upright and got an excited gleam in his eyes.

"There was one girl… now she was a pain in the patookas!" he laughed to himself.

"What girl?" asked Cho, picking up his pen to write once again.

"Oh I'm sure it's nothing really. I shouldn't have mentioned it." Eagleson backtracked.

"Tell us anyway. We'll judge if it is useful information" Cho stated flatly.

"Oh sure, well…"Eagleson cleared his throat and looked sheepish at the mention of it.

"There was this student. She started to come into my shop about 3 weeks ago, after classes let out. She would just sit and watch us work. After about a week, she asked if there was another location of my tea shop in downtown Austin. Said she loved our tea but didn't want to travel so far to get it."

"And?" encouraged Teresa.

"And, I told her about the location in downtown Austin where all the excitement was today. I told her about it and then she badgered me about our hiring procedures. I thought it was all very strange, but she seemed genuinely interested in getting a job with our chain."

"How often does she come in Sir?" asked Cho.

"Oh that's the thing. Once I told her about our other shop and the manager over there, Helene, she never came back."

Cho looked at Teresa and they both felt the same tingle of excitement. This was a solid lead.

"Mr. Eagleson, what did this girl look like? Can you recall her appearance, her name maybe?"

Eagleson scratched his head, deep in thought.

"She was very petite, long blonde hair, always wore a baseball cap and sunglasses. I think her name was Susan, or Sheila, or…"

"Silvia?" nudged Teresa.

"Yes! Yes, it definitely could have been Silvia!" he exclaimed, remembering her much more clearly now. "She told me she was looking for work but I think she was really a student."

"Why do you think that?"

"She had a Texas A&M keychain dangling from her backpack. Who would carry one of those unless you were a student there?"

"Is there anything else you can tell us about this girl Mr. Eagleson?" asked Teresa.

"Ah, nope. That's just about it. Like I said, she disappeared as soon as I mentioned Helene at the other location. Strange huh?"

"Thank you for your time Mr. Eagleson. You have been very helpful." nodded Cho.

"I have? Really? I helped the FBI? Wow!" Eagleson marvelled. "Oh, may I ask, what happened in my shop today? No one has told me anything yet. Was it a robbery?"

Teresa looked at Cho and he nodded his head to go ahead and give the man an answer.

"No Sir, not a robbery" she said as unemotionally as possible. "One of our FBI team members was attacked and kidnapped earlier today in your shop."

"Oh my goodness! I am so sorry! Was it that fella they were talking about on the news, a Mr. Jane? They just said a agent had disappeared."

Looking down at Teresa's name tag, Eagleson's eyes snapped back up and realization dawned on him.

"My dear, is he your husband?"

Teresa nodded wordlessly and Cho stepped in to guide Mr. Eagleson out of the interrogation room. Teresa stood rooted to the spot, collecting her emotions, which once again threatened to overwhelm her. A few minutes later Cho reappeared and reached out to her.

"You OK?"

"Yep… sure…" she sniffed. Turning to face Cho, she switched back into Agent mode.

"He was helpful, right? I mean, maybe this girl is the wack job who poisoned Patrick?"

"We'll get right on it. We'll contact Texas A&M and see if we can find someone who matches her description. We can get the computer facial analysis guys in to recreate her face and see if Eagleson recognizes her."

"Good, now we have somewhere to begin." Teresa sighed.

Wylie was waiting for them when they returned to the bullpen.

"Forensics just sent up a report on the teacup and also on some cigarette butts found in the alley behind the shop."

"And?"

"Helene, the shop manager, doesn't smoke, so it looks like our mystery woman left those butts behind. Forensics can match the DNA on those butts to any suspect we bring in" Wylie grinned in triumph.

"It's a solid lead" he smiled.

"Yes it is. If we get lucky maybe we'll get some fingerprints to match up with our teacup as well."

Teresa returned to the couch and Wylie sat at his computer screen. Cho returned to his office and started to make phone calls to the university. If he had to personally interview every female student to find their girl, he would do it, for Patrick and Teresa.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Well at least Cho and Teresa have a tiny lead to follow. But finding the girl will be like looking for a needle in a pile of needles, as Patrick liked to say! More to follow soon I hope. I don't like to leave a story hanging for too long. Thanks for all the follows and favourites! Reviews keep me going too!**


	5. Watching and Waiting

**Patrick is going to have to trust someone in Katarina's household. Hopefully there is one person who is brave enough to stand up to Katarina, the Russian Mob, and Jan Nemic.**

 **Disclaimer: Glad to watch re-runs til the cows come home. Thank you Bruno Heller for a great show!**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 5 Watching and Waiting

Time seemed to have slowed down. If he had a clock to watch, Patrick would not have been surprised to see the hands moving backwards. He stood still, arms raised over his head and feeling dead now, totally alone and ignored. No one had come back to the barn for hours and he was desperately in need of food, water and a bathroom break. How quickly his body betrayed him, letting him know who was really in control. The body wanted certain basics to be met!

"Hello? Anybody out there?" Patrick called, annoyed at how lame and desperate he sounded.

"I need to go to the bathroom!" he yelled, hoping for any kind of a reaction. "If there is no food, water will do!" he shouted. His voice died on the night air. Did everyone leave? Where was that Nemic woman? He stood up on the balls of his feet to take his weight off of his wrists, but that only gave relief for seconds, not even minutes, and then the zip ties once again cut into his already shredded flesh. Grimacing in pain and frustration, he looked around in desperation for some way to improve his situation. Unless he could get out of his restraints, he feared he would hang here until he died or someone returned to kill him. Patrick's head drooped in fatigue. No one was going to come running just because he wanted them to. Sleep might provide a good escape for a while. He would have to focus on that.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The door of the barn slowly opened two hours later, and stealthy footsteps cautiously approached the unmoving prisoner. A young woman crept towards the sagging body of the sleeping man hanging from the rafters. The dark haired girl stood and stared at the limp form before her. She took in his appearance, so much more battered looking than when she had first seen him that morning. Blond curls were glued to his forehead by dried blood, scruffy short beard, manicured fingers with a trace of baby blue paint around the nails, smart casual jeans that were now dirt and blood encrusted, and a blue oxford shirt half untucked at the waist, sleeves rolled up carefully to the elbows. This was a man who took care of himself, and was taken care of by someone who loved him. He didn't look like a devil, evil incarnate. He was not what she had been told he was. His head lolled against his chest and his wrists leaked blood down his arms.

She impulsively reached out and stroked his cheek gently. There was something so sad about him, not what she had expected. He was the sworn enemy of her family, the source of her Aunt Katarina's fury. But he didn't seem like a man Katarina Nemic needed to hone her laser-like focus on. The girl held a half finished bottle of water, and she suddenly had the urge to give it to this man. Taking hold of his head, she raised it up and tipped water into his mouth. Waking up from a fitful sleep to find water pouring down his throat, Patrick greedily gulped the water and didn't see the tiny woman clearly in the dim light of the night. When the bottle was empty, she turned and started to leave as quietly as she had come in.

"Don't go" whispered Patrick.

The small woman froze in place, shocked to have been spoken to. She took another step towards the door and he spoke again.

"Please, stay. Talk to me".

Patrick watched the young woman clearly struggling with herself, afraid to stay, and ashamed to go. She stood with her back to him, torn by having to make a decision, and when she dropped her shoulders, he knew her better self had won the battle.

Still turned away from him, she spoke.

"I should go. If she finds me here it will be bad for both of us."

"Then why did you come and risk angering her?"

She shook her head and felt consumed with self-loathing.

"It's just that… I'm sorry…" she whispered.

"I'm sorry I got involved with this. I'm sorry for what she is doing to you. It's my fault you're here like this."

Patrick was not expecting that admission.

"Please turn around. Keep me company for a little while. I know who you are anyway, so there's no sense hiding."

She realized it was pointless shielding her face from Patrick, he remembered her from the tea shop that morning. She slowly turned around and faced him. Taking a few steps towards him she felt his eyes boring into her.

"Hello Silvia" he said softly. "What a mess we're in huh?"

She nodded her head in agreement before bursting into tears and took another step towards him.

"Thank you for the water by the way" he said. "I was pretty desperate a few hours ago. You wouldn't happen to have any take-out with you in one of those pockets?" he smiled.

She laughed in spite of her raw emotions. She still felt ashamed to talk to him, so she just shook her head, a "no' to his question. Her eyes roamed around the barn, taking in the dirt and dust, the age of the place and the smell left by decades of animals in stalls close by. Finally her eyes wandered upwards and she saw the zip ties tightly cutting into Patrick's wrists, the blue tinge to his hands, the struggle he had just remaining on his feet.

"I should find a knife and cut you down!" she said impulsively. "We could run away, get to help somewhere, get away from Thing 1 and Thing 2!" .

"That would be wonderful and there is nothing I want more than to be cut down from here, but we can't do that. Your Aunt would know who did it, and we won't make it across the yard before we are seen." He paused, then asked, "What do you mean, Thing 1 and Thing 2?"

Silvia smirked, wiping at her tears. "Oh, sorry. The two bodyguards that Katarina Nemic always has hovering around, the interchangeable guys with shaved heads and grey suits, they come and they go, so I never learn their names. I just call them Thing 1 and Thing 2, like in the Dr. Seuss book 'The Cat in the Hat'. You know that book?"

Patrick smiled, remembering reading that book to a delighted Charlotte. "Yes, I know that book very well. It's one of my favourites." He looked at the girl standing in front of him. She didn't want to be here, and she definitely didn't seem like Katarina.

Silvia came a little closer to Jane and struggled to make some kind decision. She finally relented, and began to talk.

"My Aunt is a dangerous, spiteful woman who holds grudges like no one else. She has ruled my life for a very long time. She and my father both wanted me to join in the 'family business', and have done everything possible to turn me into one of them."

"It hasn't really worked out that way for them, has it?" asked Patrick.

Silvia looked at him sharply and smiled for the first time. "No, it hasn't. I don't want that life, I want to be left alone and be allowed to live my own life. Living outside the law, hurting people, that's not me."

"So who are you?" Patrick asked. "Your name isn't really Silvia is it?"

The girl flushed red, and looked panicked. This man could almost see through her, seemed to know what a liar she was. Maybe it was time to start being honest with him, and with herself.

"I guess it doesn't matter anymore, my life has been thrown away anyway. You're right. My name is not Silvia. It's Laila. Laila Kovac. I am Jan Nemic's daughter."

Patrick appraised her now with renewed interest. Now the puzzle pieces were falling into place. He had helped put Jan Nemic away, his sister Katarina couldn't risk revealing herself in Austin, so use the daughter of her beloved brother to ensnare her enemy, Patrick.

"Jan Nemic's daughter, but your name is Kovac?"

Laila got a defiant look in her eyes and spat out her answer.

"My mother came from a tiny village in Slovakia. My father had left years before and when he came back, he was driving an American car, wore expensive suits, he had subordinates doing his bidding. He was like visiting royalty, or a movie star she had a crush on. When he took a fancy to her, because she was pretty and naive, she felt honoured. He swept her off her feet and when he left town, she was happy to go with him. She was very innocent back then. She had never been to a city or travelled by train or plane. My father introduced a whole big world to her and she was bowled over by it and by him. When he proposed, she couldn't say yes fast enough."

"I suspect there is a 'but' coming in your story" murmured Patrick.

"Yes, you're right. My mother thought she had won the lottery for the first half year or so, until my father started to bring other women home, telling my mom to stay in her room. She was his wife and was furious that he would cheat so blatantly on her in their own house. She made the mistake of telling him what she thought of his behaviour."

'Was it bad?" asked Patrick, already knowing the answer.

"Yes" whispered Laila. "She didn't recover from the beating for weeks. After that she said nothing when he brought other women, sometimes more than one at a time, into the house. She would stay hidden and try to ignore what was going on. She was humiliated and ashamed at what her life had become. She would have left too, but then she discovered she was pregnant with me…" she trailed off, deep in thought.

"But she did leave him, yes?" Patrick prompted her.

She looked up at him with something akin to pride in her eyes. "Yes, she did. When she thought I was big enough to make a run for it, she left him when he was out of the country. We made it to America and she divorced him. She reverted back to her maiden name, Kovac. I took that name too. She thought she was free of him and his violence. But then the men in suits started to show up around our apartment."

"Guys like Thing 1 and Thing 2?"

"Yes. Exactly the same. Dad was sending her a message. You can run away from me but you will always belong to me."

"Did you go to the police?"

"My mother tried that, but since no one had actually approached her or harmed her or me, there was nothing they could do. They couldn't just watch our house all the time on the off-chance someone did something, sometime."

"What happened? How is your mother?"

Laila looked at Patrick and a slow tear slid down her cheek.

"He killed her. I was 14 and away at a school weekend away. He had always continued to pay for my education, and I went to good schools, but the downside of it was the fear we lived in every day. I left on a Friday afternoon, and when I got back, she was dead on the kitchen floor."

"How do you know it was done on orders from your father?"

"You don't cross Jan Nemic. He waited until I was old enough to carry on without my Mom. He didn't do it of course, one of his goons probably did. Or even Katarina might have killed her. I will never know. They thought with my Mom out of the way they would take me back to Slovakia and join the family business when I was old enough."

"But you were scooped up into the child welfare system when you refused to leave America. Right?"

"Yes. For me it was worth being sent from home to home just to stay away from the Nemics. I worked really hard in school and won a scholarship to Texas A&M University. I want to be a physical therapist, working mostly with disabled children. Not what my father or my aunt want me to do."

"You sound like a very smart, and brave girl."

"Well I will be a smart scared girl when the police find me and put me in jail forever for helping those goons kidnap you."

"Did you help Thing 1 and Thing 2 voluntarily? Or did they blackmail you somehow into helping them?" Patrick asked. Laila looked resigned to her plight, and let the rest of the story unfold.

"I have a wonderful room mate at school named Mandy. She is my best friend and she would do anything for me. When my Aunt contacted me and told me what to do to get you, I refused. But when she threatened to hurt or do worse to Mandy, I had no choice. I couldn't be responsible for that sweet girl being taken or killed. So, I went to the tea shop and used the tea that Katarina supplied and made you a cup of it. She told me you would just fall asleep for a little while so you wouldn't make a fuss while the goons took you out the back. Katarina made it easier for me by telling me you were an evil, dangerous man". She looked away again in shame.

"I am so sorry."

Patrick saw what a broken and lost child this girl was. She had tried so hard to be an upstanding citizen of her adopted country, but the tentacles of her dangerous family returned again and again to wind themselves around her, to choke out any hope of freedom from their reaches. He felt overwhelmed by her honesty. It was only marred by her sense of guilt for helping to kidnap him. He would have to help her get over that. She had had no choice.

"Don't be so sure that you will end up in prison. I speak from experience" he smiled. "Let's just survive this situation, and then I will introduce you to friends of mine at the FBI. I think they will be able to help you once and for all."

"The FBI? Just who are you Mr. Jane?"

"Can you get access to a computer without Katarina finding out? Maybe go into town and use an internet cafe?" he asked.

Laila considered this. "Aunt Katarina won't let me use the computer at the main house in case any of my emails gives away our location. But if I said I needed some personal, girlie stuff in town, maybe Thing 1 or Thing 2 would drive me and I could lose them for a little while."

'Good plan, if you can do it without endangering yourself." agreed Patrick. "I want you to go online and Google me, Patrick Jane, or search Wikipedia, or whatever you kids use now, and read up on me. Unfortunately my life is an open book. It's all there. Then you will know all about me."

"Can I contact anyone for you if I make it to town?" she asked sensibly.

Patrick then gave her the names and email addresses of Cho, Teresa and Grace, just to make sure one of them knew that he was still alive and in need of help.

"Laila, just where are we?" Patrick finally asked.

"Katarina's private jet flew us to Maine. This property is way out in the country away from prying eyes. She also figures it is a place that would not immediately come up on anyone's radar."

"If you manage to contact my friends, tell them as much as you can about our location and maybe we will get out of here alive." he smiled. "Your Aunt either wants me dead or she has some other plan for me. She blames me for her brother being in jail because of an FBI sting we conducted in Beirut."

Laila smiled at Patrick and leaned in to kiss his cheek. "Thank you for putting him away. He is a very bad man."

Patrick blushed, and felt his face grow warm. A sudden noise outside alerted him to the danger he and Laila were in. They had been talking for too long. Time for her to go and get into the house before the sun came up. He warned her to leave, and stay in the shadows in case the men in grey were outside keeping watch. She reluctantly agreed, and said her goodbyes.

She tip-toed silently across the grassy lawn and made it back to the house, and unlocked the side door, making it to her room before anyone had noticed she had been gone. Patrick shook the sleepiness out of his head and mulled over everything he had just learned. He was not the only one trapped here. Laila needed to be rescued also. His wild idea that she could manage to get to an internet cafe and email his friends for help seemed simplistic and far-fetched, but it was all he had. Without trying something crazy, like always, he would be at the mercy of Katarina for much too long. And that simply would not do.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Well Patrick has an ally now. Perhaps Laila is not so callous as she first appeared. Without her assistance he could end up hanging in the barn for a very long time. Help was only 4 hours away by jet. But first to alert the team…..**


	6. Reflections

**The end of a difficult day is almost complete. The beginning of a new day will bring fresh revelations and new fears to our FBI team members. Who will figure out how to find Patrick, before Ms Nemic grows tired of her games with her captive?**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing. Well maybe just some comfortable shoes.**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 6 Reflections

(Late, the first day of Patrick's disappearance…)

Teresa had fallen asleep on the soft leather couch and Cho covered her up with a blanket. Wylie stayed and worked late, but had finally gone home for a quick rest. Cho walked back to his office in the silent building and worked quietly at his desk. It was very late and nothing new would be coming in from the field unless they got lucky. He sent an email to the President of Texas A&M to arrange a meeting with the some of the faculty the next day. After going over all of the forensic reports one more time, he finally shut off his desk lamp and headed out, pausing at Teresa's sleeping form. He hated to wake her, so he left her a note and let her sleep. At least here she was close to the action and would not feel left out of the investigation. He hoped some good news would come their way in the morning.

XXXXXXXXXX

(Patrick's disappearance, day 2…)

Teresa was sleeping soundly the next morning when Wylie entered the bullpen. He sat as quietly as possible at his desk and opened his laptop, forgetting about the "dum dum dum, dum dee dum, dum dee dum" Star Wars theme he had programmed into it when he turned it on. Teresa moaned and roused herself at the strange sound she heard in her dreams. Rolling over in a confused half-sleep, she opened one eye and met Wylie's embarrassed face staring back at her.

"Sorry! Teresa, so sorry, I didn't mean to wake you!" he blathered in a panic.

She sat up and shook her head, getting the cobwebs out and looked around the room.

"S'OK Wylie. I slept here the whole night?"

"Ahhh… looks like it" he confirmed. "Can I get you a coffee, maybe? Decaf?" he offered.

"Thanks Wylie… and if you can magic up a Bear Claw at the same time that would be perfect" she replied, running a hand through her mussed up hair.

As Wylie started to get up, the elevator doors slid open and Cho entered, carrying a brown paper bag.

"Hold up Wylie. I brought pastries and coffee for everyone. Teresa, come and get yours before word gets out" he smiled.

"Thanks Cho. Jane Jr. here is mighty hungry."

She got up and joined Cho in the boardroom. Digging their tasty pastries out of the bag, they got settled for another long day. Suddenly the door burst open and Wylie rushed over to the table, flushed with excitement.

"Take a Bear Claw Wylie, and grab a coffee for yourself" commanded Cho.

"Oh, OK!" Wylie agreed, slightly annoyed to be delayed from opening his laptop. Taking a pastry and coffee, he put them down untasted and turned to his computer, grinning from ear to ear. Cho noticed and shot Lisbon a sly grin.

"Ok Wylie, you look like the cat that ate the canary. What's up?"

Wylie was almost bouncing up and down with excitement and beamed a smile at Teresa.

"Ok, so, last night I got to thinking about how it sucked that we didn't have any security tape footage of this Silvia person, so, I got to thinking about all the other footage at every business on the street."

'But you checked all of the footage yesterday and she doesn't show up on any of it" Cho stated flatly.

"Ahh, yes, that's right… but, I got to thinking about the types of businesses on the street by the tea shop."

Teresa looked puzzled.

"Wylie, what does it matter what kind of businesses are on that street?"

Wylie was positively glowing with excitement now and turned his laptop around to face Cho and Teresa.

"Good question. I looked at the security footage of the street and suddenly realized that the store right across the road from the tea shop is an antique furniture store!" he said, grinning broadly.

"So?" Cho prompted him.

"So… well the store is stuffed full of old furniture, art work, china…."

"Wylie!"

"Okay, getting right to it… sorry. The store also has mirrors everywhere, on every wall. They're mostly large hall or living room mirrors."

Cho released a breath in exasperation and had to ask the question that hung in the air.

"And this is important why?"

Wylie pointed to a piece of security footage he had stopped, frozen on a frame clearly showing the inside of the antique shop.

"Look here" he pointed at the screen. Cho and Teresa leaned in and a moment later they both gasped in amazement.

Reflected in a large mirror on the wall of the shop directly across from the tea shop was a clear reflection of a young woman peering out of window of the tea shop, just before she turned the sign over to read "closed".

Cho looked at Wylie with wonder and Teresa just sat smiling at the image in front of her.

"Gotcha Silvia!" smirked Wylie.

"You did it Wylie" praised Cho. "You never cease to amaze me. Way to think outside the box. Good work".

Teresa studied the face of their mysterious 'Silvia' and couldn't help but comment on her appearance.

"She's just a kid!"

"She's old enough to administer a toxic substance to a federal employee and assist in his kidnapping. When we find her, she's going to a Federal prison and will grow up behind bars" stated Cho.

Turning to Wylie he asked him to enlarge the image of the girl and make multiple copies of it for distribution around her university campus.

"If she's still in Austin, we'll have her in custody soon" he promised Teresa.

They quickly finished their breakfast in a much more celebratory mood than they had felt just a short time earlier. Teresa cleaned herself up, keen to join Cho as he met with the people at the university. Wylie had requested the school send over student photos of all first and second year female students. Putting them through facial recognition software and comparing them to the image he took off his computer, they soon had found a match. Her name was Laila Kovac. It was this information Cho had in hand when he and Teresa met with the head of student services, the University President, and a very nervous young girl.

Introductions out of the way, Cho turned to the young woman and showed her a photo of 'Silvia'.

"Miss Brownlee, we understand you are a roommate of this woman" Teresa stated.

Taking the photo from Cho, the student studied the image and nodded her head solemnly at Cho and Teresa.

"Yes, this is Laila Kovac. She's not just my roommate, she's my best friend. She's really nice. Has she been found?" she asked.

"Found? What do you mean Mandy?" asked Teresa.

"Laila and I are working on a big project together, and we had planned to hit the library and work on it last week. She is really serious about her studies and wouldn't just blow me off. But she never showed up, and I haven't seen her in class or at our room since then. Is she OK? Did you find her?"

"No. Not yet. But perhaps you can help us with that." Cho answered non-committally.

"What can you tell us about Miss Kovac? Did she ever share any of her personal history with you, introduce you to her parents, indicate where they live?" he asked.

Mandy thought for a minute, trying to satisfy these two agents.

"Laila is a very private person, you know? I mean, she didn't talk about herself all that much, but what she told me wasn't good. She was born in Eastern Europe, her parents got divorced and her mother and she came to America to start a new life. Her mother was killed, but no one ever found the person who murdered her. Laila entered the child welfare system and lived in various group homes and foster homes. She is lucky she came out of it as well as she did. She was very determined to graduate high school and come to this University."

"Did Laila say anything to you in recent weeks or days that you thought was odd or maybe indicated she was planning to leave?"

Mandy shook her head, no. "You have to know Laila like I do. She wouldn't throw away this chance of an education. I have never seen anyone work so hard to do well in school. She would only leave if it was against her will. That's why I have been so worried." She thought again and her face lit up with an idea.

"There was one thing she said a few weeks ago that I thought was strange."

"Yes?" prodded Teresa.

"Well she never had to take a part-time job like most students. Apparently even though she was estranged from her dad, he still paid for her rent and whatever her scholarship didn't cover. So I thought it was strange when she started to hang out at a tea shop after classes. When I asked her why, she said that she was thinking of getting a part-time job there."

"Can you tell us anything about her family? Where they live and who they are?" asked Cho.

"She hates her family, that's for sure! She said her father was a terrible, dangerous man. I always got the impression that she blamed him for her mother's death, but maybe I was wrong. Her only other family is an Aunt who once came to visit her here in Austin. After she left, Laila was a mess, I mean, a real emotional wreck."

"Emotional how?" asked Teresa gently. "Sad, lonely, bitter, what?"

"No. Scared. She just seemed scared. Like the woman had threatened her somehow. She wouldn't talk about it and I dropped the subject."

"Did Laila ever mention her father's or her Aunt's name?"

Mandy looked out the window, deep in thought. Cho and Teresa waited patiently, knowing this piece of information could help solve the mystery of this young woman.

After a few minutes, Mandy looked back at Cho and Teresa. "She was very secretive about her father, like he was dangerous and talking about him would be really bad. I know that his name was different from hers. She took her mother's last name, Kovac. Her mother's first name was Marta. She never gave me her father's last name, but I once heard her on the phone talking to her Aunt and I heard her refer to her father as 'Jan'. Sorry I don't know his last name. That's about as much as she ever revealed. She hated them both."

Cho smiled at Mandy and stood up, ending the meeting.

"Miss Brownlee, you have been very helpful. This information should be useful in finding out what happened to Laila."

The young woman left room relieved that she had done well. Thanking their hosts, Teresa and Cho left the campus and made their way through traffic back to the office.

"That was fruitful" said Teresa. 'Laila isn't what I was expecting."

"No, she isn't. I think our accomplice might have been coerced into working with the kidnappers. Sounds like she has been running from her family all her life and they keep catching up to her. We need to put all the names we got this morning into our database and see what comes up. Maybe we can trace the payments her father made to the university and get a lead on who he is that way. Tracking him overseas will be more difficult. Eastern Europe is a mighty big place." Cho stated.

Teresa looked over at him, an idea forming in her mind.

"Cho, you don't think they took him to Europe do you?"

Cho looked over to her and sighed.

"There is no way to know Teresa. If they did, it's going to take a lot longer to find Jane. Let's hope he is much closer to home."

XXXXXXXXXX

Patrick tried to shake the sleepiness out of his head. Laila had been gone for several hours now and he suspected that she had made it safely back to her bedroom. His last few hours of the night had passed with difficulty but he had been able to sleep for a while. With the rising of the sun, his bladder made itself known to him and could not be ignored. If he did not get to a bathroom soon he was going to disgrace himself, and that just would not do.

"Help! I need help! FIRE! I'm on FIRE here!" he screamed, sounding as desperate as possible.

Within minutes, there was a thundering of boots across the yard, signalling the response he wanted. The rear door of the barn was thrown open and the two grey men ran in. Looking around wildly, they found no smoke, no flames, just Patrick hanging by his wrists, grinning sheepishly.

"Ahhh…. sorry about the false alarm fellas."

The large men approached Patrick menacingly and he felt sure that he was about to be punched. Bracing himself for the pain about to be inflicted upon him, he shut his eyes and waited.

Nothing happened. Opening his eyes one at a time, he found himself staring at the Boss Lady herself.

"What is all this fuss about a fire Mr. Jane?" she asked softly.

"Ahh… yesss… well. I really need to use the bathroom, and no one was coming, so I used an old 'rescue me' trick. And it worked!" he grinned.

Ms. Nemic spoke quietly to the bodyguards and they stepped forward and roughly cut Patrick's restraints off his wrists. He fell to the ground, unable to support his full weight, his arms useless for the moment.

"Get up Mr. Jane. These men will take you to the men's room. Be quick about it Mr. Jane. You don't want to test my patience any more than necessary" Katarina warned.

Patrick nodded his thanks and was immediately grabbed and dragged to a small room across the barn. The door was opened and he was thrown in. He landed hard against the edge of the sink with a groan, and looked around. The bathroom was tiny and ugly, unchanged for several decades, but it was functional and fulfilled his requirements. He gratefully relieved himself and went over to the sink. He checked his appearance in the cracked mirror and saw an exhausted, pale version of himself. The gash on his forehead was starting to form a large scab, and his hair was plastered down over it. He tried to wash it out with some of the soap he took from the jet, but it was a difficult process. He focussed his efforts next on his shredded wrists, trying to keep infection at bay. He searched the room for anything he could use to aid in his escape but there was nothing. Then he noticed a tiny loose piece of glass in the corner of the mirror by the screw holding it to the wall. He used his fingertips to try to wiggle it free. Even a tiny shard of glass could be used to cut his zip ties given enough time and effort. After much pulling and tugging, and enduring a few cuts on his fingers, he managed to break off a small piece, which he quickly put in the top of his sock. He then remembered the toothpaste he had stolen from the washroom on the jet and dug it out of his pocket. Squeezing some into his mouth, he took a long drink of water and swished it around. It was refreshing after so many hours without the aid of a toothbrush. Realizing there was nothing more he could do to make himself comfortable, he was ready for the goons when they yanked the door almost off its' hinges and dragged him out.

When they got him back to the middle of the barn, he faced Katarina Nemic once more. He hoped to keep her talking for as long as possible.

"Thank you Ms. Nemic, I feel much better now." He didn't want her to know that Laila had told him her Aunt's first name.

"You're welcome Mr. Jane. We can be civilized here."

"Of course. I'm sorry, but I still don't know your first name. May I ask how I should address you?" he asked coyly.

The woman considered his request and seemed to be thinking of the pros and cons of giving up this information.

"My name is Katarina Nemic. Not that you will get the chance to tell anyone. So, please feel free to use it." she purred.

"Thank you Katarina. And please, call me Patrick" he smiled, as brightly as he could manage.

She smiled back and approached him. "Don't think your charm will change my mind about you Patrick. You are living due to my good graces. Your hours are mine to allot to you. So enjoy them while you can."

At a nod from her, the two bodyguards grabbed Patrick and once again zip-tied his wrists together, hoisting his arms over his head, tying them to the beam overhead. Patrick couldn't help but cry out in pain at the renewed insult to his open wounds.

Katarina stepped up and got uncomfortably close to him, caressing his face.

"You are a very handsome man Mr. Jane. The gods have blessed you with many attributes that women find appealing. But all of that can change".

She flicked her finger on his cheek. "A nick here. A slice there".

Her hand moved up and she traced his brow bone.

" A gouge where an eye used to be. An ear that is only partially recognizable".

Her finger slid down the length of his straight nose. "And this, can unfortunately, become a malformed mass of scar tissue. Such a shame when one loses his identity every time he looks in the mirror."

Patrick couldn't help but gulp in fear. Her silky voice was spooky, controlled, and filled with menace.

"Don't force me to ask my men to make some changes to your pretty face. I quite enjoy looking at you."

And with that, she turned and strode out of the barn followed by her two obedient men in grey.

Patrick watched her go, a cold shudder running through him. He had to get the hell out of that barn. The sooner the better.

XXXXXXXX

 **Oh my goodness! She is one freaking scary lady! More chapters up when I can manage it. Thanks for the reviews! I cherish** them all.


	7. Pizza and High Heels

**Katarina Nemic seems a little nutso to me. Is she normal and just really really mad at Jane, or are we dealing with a psychopath? Cho and Lisbon are now on Laila's trail. She is in danger no matter which way she turns. And Jane just can't catch a break!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own The Mentalist. But if I did, oh the stories you would see…**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 7 Pizza and High Heels

Teresa and Cho arrived back at the FBI office with renewed hope of finding Laila, and hence, Patrick. Cho got busy setting up a briefing and within 15 minutes the room was filled with agents. Cho had photos of Laila and Patrick Jane up on the screens in front of the assembled agents. Standing at the podium, he began to brief them on the latest developments.

"We are looking for Laila Kovac, born in Eastern Europe.. She is currently registered as a student at Texas A&M University. She is a former ward of the foster child system here in Austin. She has an Aunt, first name Katarina, that she hates and fears Her father is so far unknown to us, but his first name is Jan. Laila is estranged from him and fears him as well. She suspects he had her mother Marta Kovac killed. Laila believes both her Aunt and her father are involved in criminal activity. She may not be working with them as we first suspected. She may be a victim as well."

Cho divided his teams up and gave them assignments to begin the process of finding Jane and Laila, and finding out anything they could about Katarina. Teresa sat staring at the screen in front of her, showing Patrick's handsome face. She missed him and was so scared for him, she felt her heart constrict with fear. She got up and gave herself a little lecture. Becoming morose would not bring her husband back. Good police work would. She walked over and sat on the sofa and began to piece together what they had learned today, and then reached for the files for every case Patrick had worked on for the last 6 months.

45 minutes had passed and Cho was in his office, buried in paperwork when he heard the excited footsteps rushing across the tiled floor. Looking up he was surprised to see Teresa hurry into his office holding a file.

"Cho! We know who the father is! We have the information right here!"

Cho indicated a chair to Teresa and she impatiently sat down, clutching the file like it was a life preserver. Which it now was.

"What did you find?" Cho asked as calmly as possible.

"Beirut, Jan Nemic! Cho it has to be Nemic! He's Slovakian, head of a vast criminal network. Jane went over there to stop the importation of illegal passport chips and we caught both Nemic and Erica Flynn. It has to be him Cho! The similarities are just too many to ignore."

Cho took the file and scanned it, frowning at what he read. When he looked up, it was with a gleam in his eyes that showed his satisfaction with Teresa's hunch.

"There's no indication of the Aunt in any of our intel, but we can follow that lead and see where it goes. We know her first name is Katarina. Last name could be Nemic if it is Jan's sister. If Patrick's kidnapping is retribution for Jan Nemic's capture, we will be dealing with a very angry woman."

He closed the file and handed it back to Teresa. "Great work Teresa."

She smiled and left the room to resume studying the file. Cho picked up the phone and was soon speaking to the warden at the Federal prison, the forever home of one Jan Nemic.

XXXXXXXXXX

Patrick was very very hungry. It was now over 24 hours since he had had anything to eat. He had skipped breakfast the day before in anticipation of a large lunch later with Teresa. The only thing he had consumed was breakfast tea at home, then toxic tea at the tea shop. His stomach growled and churned, turning in on itself. He was becoming light headed and needed something to keep himself alert. He had more tubes of toothpaste in his pocket, but no way to get to them, not that they would give his body what it needed right now anyway. His encounter with Katarina had been quite revealing. He now realized that she was at the least, just cruel and vindictive, but at the worst, crazy and unpredictable. He would have to be careful how he spoke to her. He didn't want to be too subservient to her, but too much back talk would surely lead to her hurting him, badly.

He looked up at his hands and wrists and was dismayed to see the bad discolouration in his fingers. The blood could not get to his hands and they were suffering. If this continued he feared permanent damage to his hands, which were his best tool when used to pick-pocket, misdirect and hypnotise people. There was nothing he could do to help himself. If he involved Laila in an attempted break-out, he feared for her safety as well as his own. Sighing in frustration at his inability to find a way out, he decided to let his mind go and roam through his memory palace. His most precious possessions were lodged there, his memories of Angela and Charlotte, of his friends and co-workers, and now, most especially, his memories of his years together with Teresa, first as CBI employees, then the FBI, and now as lovers and newlyweds. He concentrated on reliving every wonderful moment with Teresa, seeing her come out of the Airstream in her wedding gown, blushing in excitement on their wedding day. He experienced again the disbelief and rush of love he felt for her when she let him know she was expecting their baby. The smell of her, the sensuous curves of her body, the sound of her laughter and her moans of passion during their lovemaking, all of it lived with vibrancy in his memory palace. He could almost reach out and touch her…. almost. He tried as long as possible to escape to his mind, to exist only there, not in his actual physical reality. Fortunately he was very good at doing this, and so, time passed on this second hard day of captivity.

At what he surmised was lunchtime, Patrick heard a truck pull up to the side of the house and someone talking in a language he could not understand. After a few minutes the truck left, but the tantalizing aroma of pizza soon filled the air in the yard. The smell of garlic and tomatoes, basil and oregano, sausage and ham filled the air, so maddeningly close and yet so completely unattainable. He snapped out of his mind games to the grumbling of his stomach. Dammit, did they have the pizzas sitting outside the window of the barn just to drive him crazy? His mouth watered involuntarily and he anguished for just a taste of the food so tantalizingly close. The sound of the men talking stopped when he heard a door slam. The food was in the house now. Even the scent would soon disappear.

Patrick's legs were shaking violently now, having had no rest for almost 24 hours. If his legs gave out, he would collapse and fall, most likely dislocating his shoulders and deeply cutting his wrists. He struggled to remain standing. He desperately needed to sit down, as much as he needed food and sleep. Now he could understand Katarina's strategy in just leaving him alone, unbeaten, and uncut, but hanging in the barn. Gravity was the punisher, not her goons. In time, if he didn't beg for mercy first, Patrick would break and do whatever she demanded, just to be cut down. He was feeling very vulnerable after only 24 hours of this treatment. He tried to gauge how much longer he could hold out before he called for her and tried to cut a deal. Doing so would ease his suffering, but he did not imagine it would save his life. He was certain that no matter what Katarina wanted him for, his death was her ultimate end plan.

As if she had been listening in on his thoughts, the barn door swung open and Katarina Nemic entered, followed closely by Thing 1 and Thing 2.

"Good afternoon Mr. Jane" she smiled. "I would have returned sooner, but we ordered food in and lingered over our lunch" she explained, knowing the mention of food would only increase Jane's torment. "I hope you have had a pleasant morning."

Patrick stifled a smart-ass remark.

"My morning was nice and quiet, thank you very much for asking" he smiled tiredly.

Katarina walked slowly around Patrick, trailing her index finger slowly around his body as she walked. When she came full circle, she turned to face him, her finger lingering on his chest. She stood and stared at him, sizing him up while he tried to stare back as unemotionally as possible.

"Mr. Jane, your bravado does you no credit. I have been exceedingly kind to you, a courtesy which I am sure my brother is not enjoying."

Jane took a moment to respond, not sure if he would be able to answer appropriately.

"I'm sure your brother is much more comfortable than me at this moment. In fact he has had plenty of time to make new friends and exchange favours with some of the gang leaders in the prison. He is a good enough looking man, perhaps if he's lucky, he is making someone a very nice boyfriend even as we speak." Patrick said, unable to hold his tongue.

Something snapped in Katarina, and her hand lashed out, slapping Patrick hard across the face.

"Your mouth will be your downfall Patrick."

"Yes. You're probably right" he said, shaking his head to get the ringing out of his ears. "But it's all I have left now, isn't it Katarina…" he said sarcastically.

At a subtle signal from her, the two bodyguards rushed Patrick and punched him in his exposed mid-section. A punch from just one of the men would have been serious, but a punch from two of them was damaging. He swung back and forth from the impact, and desperately tried to breath. Suddenly he felt his wrists cut free from his restraints and he fell hard to the barn floor. He lay there gasping, unable to see clearly due to the pain he was experiencing. He gradually became aware of Katarina's high heeled shoes approaching his prone body.

"Like I said Mr. Jane…. your downfall…"

And with that, she lifted her foot and ground her stiletto heel painfully into his already damaged shoulder. Patrick screamed in pain as her heel dug into his stretched and over-taxed muscles and tendons. When she was done, she slowly turned and exited the barn, leaving Patrick to the mercy of the men in grey.

XXXXXXX

A search of the child welfare files turned up little new information about Laila. Little was known about her mother, and nothing was noted about an Aunt. Teresa closed the file with resignation, disappointed that it was not the wealth of information she had hoped for. She decided to pay a visit to the last family that had fostered her before she left to go to University.

Cho and Lisbon pulled up to a very simple bungalow outside of Austin and walked up the path to the front door. Tricycles and various toys littered the yard, and rock music was streaming out of the open windows. Cho rang the bell, hoping it could be heard above the din. A small woman of about 50 years old opened the door and eyed Cho and Lisbon with suspicion.

'Yes? Whatever you are selling, I can't afford it." she stately simply.

"Ma'am, I am Senior Agent Kimball Cho and this is Agent Teresa Jane. We are with the FBI. We would like to ask you some questions."

The woman's jaw fell open with shock, then she roused herself and shouted to someone in the house to turn down the music. Amid some grumbling, the noise level diminished and she asked them to come inside. Wringing her hands in nervousness, she led them to a sofa and invited them to sit.

"Why on earth would the FBI want to talk to me?" she asked, afraid of the answer.

"Ma'am, we need some information about Laila Kovac. We understand you were her foster mother until she was old enough to leave home" stated Cho.

The woman visibly relaxed, and smiled at the memory of her foster daughter.

"Yes, yes I was her mom while she lived here. Laila was a very good girl, and I grew to love her very much. I still love her, we have remained in contact." Her face then grew concerned. "Is Laila OK? Nothing's happened to her? Oh God!" she said, jumping to conclusions.

"Mrs. Milroy, it's all right., Laila is alive and as far as we know, OK. We just don't know where she is and we were hoping you could help us to find her" Teresa reassured her.

"She should be at school right about now. She is a very good student and would not miss class unless she was very sick" Mrs. Milroy stated. "So if she's not in school, where is she?"

Cho opened his notebook and started his list of questions.

"Mrs. Milroy, can you ever recall Laila talking about an Aunt of hers named Katarina?"

Mrs. Milroy's face dropped and she looked disturbed by the question.

"Katarina is a name I have not heard for a very long time. Yes, Laila did mention her Aunt Katarina. She was afraid of her and told me she was a very evil woman. She said it was her father's sister, and that the Nemic's were dangerous people. I thought she was fantasizing a bit, you know how kids can exaggerate, but then one day Katarina showed up on my doorstep."

Cho and Teresa exchanged glances and knew they were on to something.

"Go one, what happened?' asked Teresa softly.

"The bell rang and when Laila opened the door, she took off running to her bedroom. I went to the door and met the woman standing there and she introduced herself as Laila's Aunt Katarina."

"What did she want? Why did she make the trip to your house?" asked Cho.

Mrs. Milroy straightened up he shoulders and looked angry. "She told me that she had come to get Laila and take her back to Slovakia with her. She said she was family, and that Laila had to go with her."

"How did you handle that?"

"I told her that this was America, and that in this country, the law had decided that Laila could live with me until she was an adult. If she didn't want to go with this woman, she didn't have to. Then I politely told her to leave."

'How did that go over?" asked Teresa.

"Not well. The woman just wouldn't take no for an answer and started to walk through the house calling for Laila. I told her to get out or I would call the police. She stopped when I said that, but she looked at me like she could kill me with her eyes. I have never seen such hate, I can tell you that! Then she just all of a sudden left. I was scared half to death!"

"Did she return or harm you or Laila in any way?"

"No, we never saw her again, but I put more locks on the doors and windows just in case, and I got a big dog too!"

"Did Laila ever tell you where her Aunt or father lived?"

"No, I don't think she ever really knew. Her dad moved around a lot and her Aunt was just a mystery to her. I don't think she wanted to know too much. That part of her life was very bad, and it scared her."

Cho got up and it was Teresa's signal to leave as well. After thanking Mrs. Milroy for her help, they headed for the front door. Cho stepped out, but Teresa lingered.

"Mrs. Milroy, we will do everything we can to bring Laila home to Austin. I give you my promise."

"Thank you my dear. I believe you" she smiled weakly, and then watched the black SUV pull out of the driveway, leaving her bewildered and frightened for the first time in many many years. All because of that Katarina woman…

XXXXXXX

 **Whew! Things are not improving for Patrick, but Teresa and Cho are making some headway. They better figure things out soon. I don't think Katarina is going to waste much more time toying with Patrick!**


	8. Just Chill Out

**Firstly, thank you most sincerely to all of the readers who took the time to write reviews. For those of you who do not write fanfiction, let me tell you that the reviews keep us going. We need to know someone out there is actually reading what we write. Thank you to all of you for your PM's and reviews.**

 **So - things are not going well with Jane. Whatever plan Katarina has for him, she is being coy about revealing it. She wants to make him suffer before she either uses him or destroys him. She's mean like that….**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 8 Just Chill Out

Jane lay curled up on the barn floor, his lungs burning with the effort needed to breath. The punches landed by Thing 1 and Thing 2 had definitely caused some damage, but what and how much damage was still unknown. Katarina's footsteps reached the barn door and Jane heard the door open and then slam shut. Looking up he stared into the expressionless faces of the two grey goons. They stood over him, looking inordinately large and dangerous. Both were identical in build, with thick necks, shaved heads and fat, muscular hands. They knew how to inflict pain, and Patrick felt that it was only due to Katarina's direct orders to them not to kill him yet that he was still alive after their beating. He instinctively curled in on himself, trying to protect his injured core as best he could with arms that now were rendered pretty much useless. His arms and hands were dead weights, bloodless stumps at the moment, but he knew when the blood began to rush back through his veins his arms would scream with the pain the pressure created.

"Hi fellas. Would either one of you happen to have a bottle of water that you could spare?" Patrick asked quietly, panting for breath. He knew damned well he was not about to be given anything remotely resembling a creature comfort. He just wanted to know which man understood English. When Thing 2 reacted with a slight smirk, and whispered to Thing 1, eliciting another grin, he knew that Thing 2 was the man to deal with. Thing 1 did not speak English, so could not be manipulated or hypnotised. Patrick had already learned so much today. Taking a risk he had gotten mouthy with Katarina to see how she would react. Her inability to control her impulses had led her to lash out at Patrick, slap him and have him beaten. So, her buttons could be pushed and she could be manipulated if pressed hard enough to act foolishly. Bingo, another useful bit of information. Now he also knew which bodyguard spoke English. The day was shaping up nicely. If he could just stay out of zip ties from now on he would feel so much better. Or so he thought.

Thing 1 stepped closer to Jane and put one meaty hand around his bicep and hauled Patrick to his very shaky legs. Patrick tried his best to stand like a man and not cower, but it was impossible, his legs were too weak. When his legs gave out, Thing 2 joined in and together, the grey men dragged Patrick out of the barn for the first time since he had arrived the day before.

The sun was blinding compared to the dim light in the barn and Patrick immediately squinted in the brightness. He couldn't see where he was being dragged but relished the fresh air on his face and in his lungs. His arms started to burn and tingle as the blood made its' way through his veins. The pain was extreme and he hoped it would soon subside. He was glad the two thugs were busy pulling him along and so didn't notice the grimace of pain on his face when his arms began to make war on his body. But with the pain would come sensation, and feeling would then return to his fingers. That pain competed with the sharp pain in his abdomen, a reminder of the fists that had made butter out of his men made their way across the yard under the watchful eyes of Katarina, who stood on the porch of the expansive house, enjoying the spectacle of the prideful Mr. Jane reduced to a puppet, under her control. Having two goons drag him around certainly made him look like a marionette, his arms and legs useless on their own.

Around the back of the house stood a small building, not more than 15 feet by 20 feet overall, with a door facing the house, and a tiny window 5 feet off the ground on the backside of the old structure. Anyone going to and from the building could be spied upon from the big house. As the grey men dragged Patrick towards the building, he looked up and stared into the frightened eyes of Laila, watching from what must have been her bedroom window on the second floor of the house. Her hands flew up to her face, covering her mouth to quiet a shout. Her horrified expression convinced him that she wanted no part of what her Aunt was doing to him. She had been to the barn to see him in the late hours of the night before. When he finally told her to get back to the house she had left only reluctantly. She had had to remain there throughout the morning and the pizza lunch, doing nothing to arouse suspicions of any kind in her Aunt Katarina. If her Aunt believed that Laila was completely disinterested in Patrick's welfare, perhaps Laila would eventually be allowed to go into town and then, send out an email asking for help. Laila found the waiting excruciating. Every hour that passed brought Mr. Jane closer and closer to whatever Aunt Katarina had ultimately planned for him. Laila dared not come downstairs and let her Aunt see the concern in her face. Better hide out in her room and act like a petulant teenager a bit longer.

Thing 1 let go of Jane's arm long enough to open the door to the outbuilding and then helped Thing 2 drag their reluctant captive into the dark space inside. Throwing on the lights, they pulled Patrick over to hard metal chair bolted to the floor in the centre of the room and sat him down. Glad to be sitting and not hanging by his wrists, Patrick knew this slight reprieve could not be construed as an improvement in his conditions. Working silently, the grey men pulled zip ties out of their pockets and tied Janes' upper arms to the sides of the chair back, and his ankles to the chair legs. Finding this uncomfortable but preferable to hanging up like a side of bacon, Jane took a quick look around the small building and saw nothing of use to himself. There was a drain in the floor and some hoses, several buckets and a string clothesline across the back of the room holding up several drying squares of cloth. A sick feeling swept over him as scenes from war movies and new reports played swiftly through his mind. The building contained no farm tools or lawn mowers or anything else that would be expected on a large property like this.

This was a torture room.

As the realization of his situation crept over him Patrick tried to talk to grey man #2.

"OK, I get it. Katarina is mad at me, as she should be. I can be disrespectful from time to time. Tell Ms. Nemic I would be happy to talk to her about whatever it is she wants to discuss."

The goon stood up from his work on Jane's restraints and backhanded him across the face.

"No" he said quietly in response.

Jane's head snapped back and he felt the metallic tang of blood in his mouth. Any blood he swallowed immediately made him feel sick to his stomach, as he had absolutely nothing left to digest.

The men stepped back from Jane and seemed to be sizing him up. When they were satisfied he was securely bound to the chair, Thing 1 walked over to a hose and turned the spigot, filling a bucket with cold water. No one spoke and the sound of the water coursing into the bucket filled Jane with dread. He had read about waterboarding, and always thought it would be one of the most terrifying experiences to go through. But he was about to find out for himself.

"This is unnecessary, really. Tell Ms. Nemic I am truly sorry for my poor manners earlier today. Perhaps she and I can reach some kind of an agreement?"

"Shut up" ordered Thing 2. Thing 1 switched off the water and withdrew the hose from the bucket. He walked over to Patrick and smiled at him.

Patrick decided to give it one more try.

"I know Ms. Nemic can be reasonable, and so can I. Please let her know I understand that she is the boss, and I am just her guest. Tell her I would like to have a discussion with her about how we can resolve her issues with me."

Thing 2 leaned in close and stared at Jane.

"Thirsty?"

Before Jane could answer, Thing 1 lifted the bucket and dumped the cold water over Patrick's head. Putting the bucket down, both men silently retreated and left the room, locking the door behind them. Patrick sputtered and shivered and was shocked that the anticipated waterboarding did not happen. A pail of water over the head seemed so juvenile, silly almost. He was soaked to the skin but felt somewhat refreshed.

Then he heard a switch get thrown and a large fan set into the ceiling directly over his head began to turn. The musty air in the room soon freshened and felt good. A few minutes later, the air became colder and uncomfortable. Patrick looked up and realized there was an huge air conditioning unit, large enough to cool a fair sized office, up on the roof. Before long it started to blow icy air down on him. Within a few more minutes Jane was shivering. He was directly in the path of the icy air. He could not curl up to contain his body heat and was fully exposed to the full force of the frigid blast. No amount of moving or heaving his body could move the chair out of the direct flow of arctic air. Jane was getting colder and colder, the drips of water falling off his hair only adding insult to injury as the cold water dripped down his face and neck. He began to shiver uncontrollably, teeth literally chattering in his head. Time passed painfully slowly, and he was in pain. He gradually became aware that his wet clothes had started to freeze on his body. Trying desperately to loosen his bonds, Jane realized his hands were rigid and had lost their ability to bend. His hair was stiff and crispy and his clothes contained him as if he had been frozen inside an ice cube. Thinking desperately, he tried to remember how long it would take to freeze to death. His body shook uncontrollably trying to generate heat but this took every bit of his very limited strength. He was fighting a losing battle, and he was losing it very quickly. Time dragged on and eventually he became fixated on the sound of the fan. There was nothing else in the room to focus on. He tried biofeedback techniques to trick his mind into thinking about being warm, in a warm place, in warm clothing, in front of a blazing fire. It was hard work and he gave it his all. The air temperature steadily dropped, degree by degree, and Patrick's paroxysms became convulsions. He tried to go to a safe place in his memory palace, but the doors seemed to be closed. He couldn't access the information stored there. His eyes were screwed shut, possibly frozen shut now, and his lips were blue. The feeling in his fingertips, only just recently returned to him, was now frozen out. His breath came out as little puffs in the air. After God only knew how long, the shivering wracking his body started to slow down. He was losing his ability to think, but he knew enough that this was hypothermia. When the shivering stopped, he knew he would feel warm again, before slipping away into sleep, and death.

XXXXXXXXXX

Lisbon and Cho entered the bullpen and found Wylie working at his desk. Cho told him to find anything he could on Katarina Nemic. If she had any kind of an internet or social media presence, no matter how obscure, Wylie would find it. Teresa sat down on the soft brown sofa and ran her hands through her hair, sighing deeply. Cho studied her for a few minutes, taking in her pasty complexion, the dark circles under her eyes and her anxiety about finding Jane in time. He made a decision that would not make him a popular man, but being the boss sucked sometimes.

"We've got things covered here for the moment Teresa. You slept here last night. Why not go home, eat something good for a change, take a shower, lay down and rest for just a little while" he suggested.

"No Cho, no… I need to be here!" she protested earnestly. "What if we catch a break? We'll need every agent available to us to act on it!"

"Teresa" Cho said gently, "I won't let anything new happen without telling you first. But if Jane finds out I didn't make you eat and rest, he'll annoy the hell outta me for the next 5 years."

"Cho I can't. Not now when we are beginning to make sense out of this mess."

"Teresa, please."

She saw the concern in his eyes and realized he was right, she was bone tired and hungry. And Jane would harass him forever if he thought she had not been forced to take care of herself during his absence. She could stand and argue with Cho but deep down she knew he was right. She did need to go home, she just didn't want to admit it to herself. She studied his strong but kind face and gave in. But just for him…. and Patrick. And the baby. No other reason she told herself. Nodding her acquiescence, she stood up and grabbed her bag and headed towards the elevator. Turning to face a now smiling Cho and a concerned Wylie, she had the last word.

"Keep me in the loop!" she ordered her men.

"Yes Ma'am!"

The bell dinged… "Every single lead, phone call or tip!" she emphasized for good measure.

"Understood!" chortled Cho. Teresa paused as she entered the elevator and gave Cho a glare which meant she wasn't kidding.

"Go!" commanded Cho, and he caught her turn and smile at him as the elevator door slid shut. Cho and Wylie remained rooted to the spot, watching the floor indicator of the elevator drop number by number.

"She's one tough cookie…" remarked Wylie softly.

"The toughest" agreed Cho. Turning to his eager young agent, he was all business again.

"Ok, let's get to it." And with that he turned and went back to his office, leaving Wylie to plunder the 'net for the elusive Katarina Nemic.

Cho's phone line was lit up with messages when he returned to his desk. He was pleased to learn the warden had agreed to his request for an interview with Jan Nemic. But first, he had another interview at a Federal prison which he hoped would shed more light on Jane's disappearance. An hour later, Cho emerged from his office, holding his jacket.

"You want a break from taking the internet apart Wylie?"

Wylie looked up in frustration and took a moment to realize Cho was inviting him to go out in the field with him.

"Oh! Ahh …. sure! That would be great!" he stammered.

"Grab your jacket and let's go."

Smiling broadly, Wylie leapt up and headed for the elevators, keen to see what Cho had in mind

'Where to?" he asked. "Jan Nemic?"

Cho punched the button of the elevator and slid on his black jacket, his face an inscrutable mask.

"No."

Wylie was expecting him to say yes, so where else would they go now?

"Okay… so.. what's the plan boss?"

Cho stepped into the waiting elevator, trailed by Wylie who obviously was dying of curiosity. Cho was all business and looked at Wylie with his mask firmly in place.

"We're going to see someone who might know more about the Nemics than we first suspected. But Wylie, I want you to watch and learn. Got it?"

"Yes sir, watch and learn." Wylie agreed eagerly.

"Keep your mouth shut and take notes. Do not engage with our witness."

Wylie thought Cho was being dramatic, but what the heck, he could shut up and take notes.

"OK! for sure, no problem" he promised.

Walking to the black SUV, Cho turned to Wylie, looking surprisingly severe.

"I meant what I said Jason. Do not engage the witness in conversation. Leave the talking to me. Watch and learn."

"Yes Sir!" sputtered Wylie. 'Geez' he thought to himself. 'Who are we going to see?'

They got into the car and Cho turned the key in the ignition. Wylie held his tongue for as long as possible, but finally couldn't contain himself any longer.

"Ahhh, may I at least ask who we will be interviewing?"

Sighing deeply, Cho finally gave him his answer.

"We're going to see Erica Flynn."

XXXXXXXXX

 **Ugh… Erica Flynn… that man eater. But if she can be convinced to give up information about the Nemic family the trip will be worth it. Can Wylie resist her feminine charms? Far stronger men have fallen at her feet! Stay tuned. More to come. Please review and share your thoughts!**


	9. The Alluring Miss Flynn

**Death by hypothermia, not a pleasant way to go. Why would Katarina do that? What a heartless bitch she is…**

 **Disclaimer: The Mentalist does not belong to me. A pity.**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 9 The Alluring Miss Flynn

Jane's shivering had stopped and his head had collapsed onto his chest. Someone had switched off the air conditioning unit and silence descended on the small space. No one came in to check on Jane. Either they hoped he was dead, or didn't care one way or the other. The room was icy cold and would take time to heat up naturally again. Jane's skin was tinged blue and his lips were white. The spilled water on the floor had iced over and Jane's clothing was frozen to his metal chair.

After about 15 minutes, there was a scratching sound at the back window. Nimble fingers appeared, working at the multiple layers of dried paint sealing the window to the frame. Sliding a knife edge along the groove around the bottom of the window ledge, the hands worked at a feverish pace. Five, ten minutes elapsed, until a tiny crack opened in the brittle layers of ancient paint. Digging the knife in along the seam that had opened up, the small hands chipped away at the base of the window until it shifted slightly in its' frame. Grasping the bottom of the window with 2 determined hands, Laila heaved with all her might to lift the window and let in warm air. She was standing at the back of the small building, having waited until Katarina went into the library with the grey men in attendance, before she ran in a panic to the torture shack. She could not make the window move all the way yet, so she worked at the paint, inch by inch. Time was ticking away but she had no other choice and no other tools available to her than this old knife. With a final grunt, she forced the old window open and hurled herself through the opening. Warm late afternoon air flooded into the icy room and she raced over to the still body strapped to the chair.

Jane wasn't moving. His hands were hanging loosely at his sides and she could not see his chest rising or falling with respirations. Laila put her hand under Jane's nose and held it there, hoping to feel a puff of air. Nothing. Her heart sank and she realized she was too late. All that hoping and waiting to run to his aid, and she was too late. She kneeled down next to his body and tenderly took his face in her hands. It was so so cold, she instinctively rubbed his cheeks between her warm palms. Whatever he had done to Katarina to make her so wild with anger, he didn't deserve this death. She dropped her hands and stood up, staring at his unnaturally still face, utterly shattered. There was nothing more she could do. Staying here and keeping a vigil over this man was out of the question, Katarina would find her in time. She turned away from him, disgusted with herself that her efforts had been too little, too late. She walked slowly over to the window, taking one last look at Jane before she lifted herself through the window to run to the safety of her bedroom. She had just put one leg out of the window when she hear a harsh shuddering moan. She swivelled around and fell back into the room. Running over to Patrick she dropped to her knees, taking his face in her hands again.

"Mr. Jane! Mr. Jane!" she whispered desperately. "Mr. Jane, wake up! Wake up!"

She rubbed his face and put her hands inside his shirt, vigorously rubbing his chest with her warm hands to stimulate his circulation and to get his heart pumping. He stirred slightly and she took his hands in hers, rubbing them harshly too. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, still restricted by his tight bonds.

"Mr. Jane, open your eyes for me!" she whispered. Jane moaned and started to shiver uncontrollably, his body slowly reversing the freezing process. Laila searched the small chamber for blankets to warm him but nothing in there was designed for comfort, only distress. She desperately wanted to cut his zip ties, but then her anonymous help would be discovered. No, she had to leave him just as he was, suffering until Kataria decided to set him free. Laila had done what little she could do, but she could stay with him until it was time to flee again. She continued to rub his chest and his face, his hands, his legs, a continuous massage to get the blood moving in his frozen veins. Very slowly, Jane began to rouse himself. Laila could see his distress when he tried to lift his arms up to his face and couldn't. He gradually opened his eyes and peered at her in confusion.

"Laila?" he croaked, his voice a parched and cold instrument. He continued to shake and convulse as the cold left his body, but gradually he calmed down and opened his eyes again.

Laila was at his side, worry and concern etched into her young face.

"Mr. Jane, I can't stay. But I had to come and see if you were OK. They tried to freeze you to death!" she stated with horror.

Patrick looked up at her and smiled a tiny lopsided grin.

"That's twice you came to my rescue…" he murmured.

"How are you feeling?" Laila asked.

"Cold…" Patrick answered honestly, stating the obvious.

Laila got up and moved nervously towards the window.

"I'm sorry, but I've stayed too long. I have to go before my Aunt misses me." she said with remorse.

"You should go, just go. S'alright." he said with slurred speech.

"You did good…." Patrick said softly, trying to give her an encouraging smile despite the misery he was feeling.

"Be strong Mr. Jane" said Laila, then she leaned back out of the window, and disappeared.

Laila kept low to the ground and ran through the high brush behind the house, taking a mad dash to the back door of the house. Katarina never ventured to the laundry room and that is where Laila came into the house. She smiled at the maid there, who had no idea of the terrible things her employer did to people who displeased her. Laila walked quickly through the hall that led to the front staircase and ran upstairs on her stockinged feet as quietly as possible. She got to her room and shut the door without raising an alarm. She was sweating with nerves and looked herself over. Her jeans were dirty from kneeling on the floor beside Mr. Jane. She saw dirt and mud all over her shoes. How would she explain that to her Aunt. She quickly got changed and wiped down her shoes, then put them far under her bed. She was just lacing up her favourite sneakers when Katarina emerged from the Master bedroom. She was elegantly dressed down in slim slacks, flats and a classy long sleeved t-shirt, a designer scarf casually thrown over her shoulders. Even when she was killing someone, she was dressed to kill. She paused at Laila's bedroom door and knocked.

"Are you going to stay in there all day? I want you to come downstairs and join the rest of us in the living room".

Feigning sleepiness, Laia answered slowly. "Oh yeah, right. Sorry… I must have dozed off."

Katarina humphed her disgust at her lazy niece and continued on her way down the stairs. Laila shook all over with adrenaline and fear. She had cut it so close! But now she knew that Patrick had survived. She felt the tiniest bit redeemed by her efforts to save his life. But she had helped to kidnap him, so she would not be able to forgive herself fully, ever. And Mr. Jane remained a prisoner of her Aunt. She opened the door to her room and headed down the stairs with trepidation. Why Kataria wanted her downstairs was a mystery, but she couldn't antagonize her. She prayed Jane would continue to warm up and be safe. Katarina was ramping up her vendetta against him, and the next time, Laila might not be able to save him.

XXXXXXXXX

Wylie and Cho arrived at the imposing Federal prison 1 hour after leaving Austin and presented their credentials at the main office. Processing took a few minutes, but eventually they were led to a small meeting room. Shortly thereafter, the door opened, and a guard led Erica Flynn into the room. She was put on a hard chair and her hands were handcuffed to the tabletop. The guard slipped out of the room and closed the door.

Erica smiled deeply at Cho and ignored Wylie. Her eyes swept the room and returned to Cho. She lowered her eyes and turned on the charm.

"It's so good of you to come and visit me Agent Cho!" she said seductively, as if he was visiting her in her private bedroom. Cho sat impassively, and didn't take the bait. He waited for her to play her little games.

"I must say I am disappointed that Patrick didn't accompany you today. How is Patrick, Agent Cho?"

Cho pursed his lips and ignored her question. Wylie looked like he was going to give Erica an explanation for Jane's absence, but looked at Cho and changed his mind. Erica now turned her laser-like focus on poor Wylie. He was without a doubt completely over-awed by her. She was dressed simply in a prison-issued orange jumpsuit. Rather than making her look hard and caged, the colour only accentuated her dark bobbed hair, her large almond shaped black eyes, and her fine olive skin. She was a natural beauty, and she knew it. Prison had not diminished her in the least. A slight gleam of lipgloss on her lips enhanced her appearance all the more.

"Please excuse my rudeness" she directed at Wylie. "I am Erica Flynn. I would shake your hand, but my manners are somewhat restricted by these archaic shackles" she indicated, lifting her hands and shaking her handcuffs.

"Oh no, that's all right Miss Flynn" Wylie babbled, clearly discombobulated by her solo attention on him. "It's very nice to meet you!" he grinned.

Cho turned in his seat and glared at Wylie with irritation. Wylie's smile faded instantly when he saw Cho's stony face. He lowered his head and fiddled with his fingers, wishing he could drop through a hole in the floor. Eric smiled and quite enjoyed his discomfort.

Cho turned back to Erica and began his list of questions.

"Miss Flynn, while you were the companion of Jan Nemic, did you ever hear him mention that he had a sister?"

Eric took her time to answer, savouring being out of her cell and away from the other, more low class inmates.

"Jan and I talked about a great many things . He and I shared a great many interests, the arts, fine food and wine, travel. I don't recall him mentioning family matters."

She leaned forward and lowered her voice conspiratorially.

"Generally, Jan was preoccupied with other activities when he was with me" she smiled, letting her double meaning choke up Wylie.

"Does the name Katarina Nemic sound familiar to you Miss Flynn? Did Jan ever mention a Katarina or speak to her when you were in his presence?"

Erica made a big show of trying to think about this question, pursing her lips in concentration. Wylie shyly looked up and studied how she did that…

"Well there were a great many people around Jan all the time. I'm not sure I wanted to pay attention to the women he had over from time to time, as you can understand. They were a distraction to him, and for that I had no patience."

"Miss Flynn, I want you to concentrate, think hard. Katarina Nemic, Jan's sister. Did you ever meet her or hear of her in any way? There are lives at stake here, depending on your memory."

Erica focussed her large black eyes on Cho and sighed heavily, dramatically.

"Such is the way of the world Agent Cho. Jan was not a bible school teacher. He was involved with dangerous people. Dangerous people do dangerous things, people get hurt" she smiled sadly, knowing she had Cho over a barrel. He wanted what she knew. She had all the power in this room.

"Erica, someone we both care about is in danger. Think harder."

She stared at Cho, calculating what this information could do for her. She was going to come out of this room happier than when she went in she realized.

"Well, I did hear him refer to a sister now that I think of it. Silly me…" she blushed with unvarnished insincerity.

She turned and looked absently at Wylie, smiling at him and watching him squirm.

"Whose life appears to be in jeopardy? Some other crime boss you want to bring in and pump for information?' she asked with boredom, eyeing a very reserved Wylie.

"No Miss Flynn." Cho answered shortly.

She turned and faced him, curious to know who was so important.

'Well who then?"

"The life in jeopardy is Patrick Jane's."

Eric's eyes grew large and she leaned forward getting as close to Cho as she could.

"Patrick? Katarina has Patrick?"

Cho was pleased to see that he had hit one of her buttons for a change.

"We believe that may be the case. Do you know where she may stay when she is in the States? Does she have safe house somewhere?"

Erica had let her guard down and showed too much concern for Patrick. She had given her emotions away. Of course she had known about Katarina, and now Cho knew it too.

Cho leaned across the table and stared at Erica.

"Patrick Jane was kidnapped yesterday. We believe Katarina Nemic may have arranged it either on her brother's orders, or on her own. Where can we find her Miss Flynn?"

Erica shook her head and nervously fiddled with her fingers.

"Agent Cho, I don't know, truly, I don't. I do not wish any harm to come to Patrick. I do know that Kataria spends most of her time in Europe, but she does live in the States for a few weeks every summer and fall. If she took Patrick, it makes sense that she would do it when she was here in the country."

"But where is the safe house Erica? Seems to me you know more than you are saying" said Cho.

"Well sad as it is that Patrick is missing, my own life here is not comfortable in prison. I'm sure my memory would improve if my living conditions improved. I know you understand what I mean Agent Cho" she said, offering a deal if he would take it.

Clenching his jaw tightly, Cho weighed his options and made a snap decision.

"Tell us where Katarina is and we'll make your time go smoother while you are here. That's the deal, take it or leave it."

Erica smiled demurely and faced Cho, a worthy adversary.

"You didn't hear this from me, and I will deny it if it's revealed that I am the source of this information, but, Jan told me that his sister loved Maine, especially as the summer heat left and the cooler days of the fall moved in. That would make the time frame just about now. Where in Maine, I don't know. Oh, and Katarina uses a private jet to get around the country."

She sat back with satisfaction and turned her attention back to Wylie, who was afraid to look at her now.

"Mr. Wylie, I didn't mean to ignore you, but my time is just so limited" she flirted.

Wylie started to open his mouth but thought better of it, looking over at Cho in embarrassment.

"Miss Flynn, if you recall anything else that could help us find Jane, please let me know at any time."

"Of course. It will be a pleasure to see you both again." she smiled, holding court as if she was the hostess of a dinner party.

Cho and Wylie stood up and left the room as the guard returned and escorted Erica back to her cell. She cast one last coy glance at Wylie as she was led away. Wylie gulped and gave her a small smile in return.

"Really?" said Cho in disgust.

"Sorry" whispered Wylie. "She's just so…. so…"

Cho smirked at Wylie's discomfort and decided to give him a break.

"Yeah, I get it." he grinned. "But I warned you to just sit and observe, not to speak or engage with her. If you are going to do this job, you have to follow through when you say you will do something. Got that?" Cho pushed him. "I need to know you want to learn."

"Yes Sir! I'm sorry!" Wylie squeaked.

"OK then. Let's go find Jane."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Well at least the FBI can narrow their search to an entire State, instead of the whole world! Now the real work starts, finding Katarina on her own turf. Thank you to all the new readers and the return of some regulars. Glad to see all of you!**


	10. Old News Is Good News

**Jane is alive and hopefully well, thanks to Laila. Katarina is playing her hand slowly but must reveal it sooner or later. Cho and Wylie are making good headway in finding out more about the mysterious Ms. Nemic…. if Erica Flynn wasn't lying to them.**

 **Disclaimer: I make no money from writing these stories. The Mentalist is yours Bruno Heller!**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 10 Old News Is Good News

Laila had been in her room for only minutes after helping Jane in the torture room. She was newly changed into fresh clothes and wanted nothing more than to stay in her room and wait for another opportunity to see Mr. Jane and figure out how to get to a computer. But then Katarina forced her to change her plans. Laila had come downstairs as commanded by her Aunt. A small plate of food was set on the large dining room table for her, and she knew that she would have to eat it all to keep Katarina happy. She took as long as possible to finish, but eventually had to get up and venture further into the house. She wandered into the living room, hoping to find it empty. She didn't want to speak to her Aunt any more than necessary. But there she was, coiled on the sofa like a python sunning itself in the sun. She had been waiting for her niece to finish eating and come here.

"I thought you were never going to finish that food. What a slow eater you are!" Katarina said conversationally. "I hope your dinner was satisfactory? I wasn't sure what you eat these days" Katarina continued, with evident insincerity.

"Yes, it was fine, thank you" Laila replied, also trying to be passive and agreeable. She stood frozen in the doorway, afraid to enter and afraid to leave.

Katarina patted the cushion next to her and motioned for Laila to come in and join her on the sofa. The last thing Laila wanted to do was to sit that close to this vile woman, but she had no way to refuse, so she walked over and sat on the edge of the sofa, waiting for whatever Katarina wanted.

"Do you like it here?" asked Katarina. A loaded question.

"Umm, yeah. The house is beautiful and the property is wonderful. Maine is a beautiful place." Laila replied non-committally.

"Good, good. I hoped you would enjoy your time here with me, away from the pressures of school."

Laila looked sharply at her Aunt and couldn't believe Katarina understood so little about her or what was important to her.

"Aunt Katarina, I really need to go back to Austin" she dared to suggest. "The longer I'm here, the farther behind I fall in my classes and assignments. I might not be able to catch up if I stay away much longer."

Katarina gave her a small smile and leaned back into the plush cushions.

"But why would you want to go back to all that tedium and paperwork, hmmm? You know you don't ever have to work like regular people do, scrabbling around like rats, competing for the few jobs that are out there" she answered with disdain, waving her hand dismissively in the air.

Katarina looked Laila up and down, taking in the jeans and t-shirt, the sneakers and makeup free face. She wasn't impressed.

"Yours could be a life of privilege, like your father and I enjoy. You would have staff to keep your house for you, your own car and driver. Anywhere you choose to travel, that's where you could go." She paused and turned her full attention onto her niece, who was nervously twisting her rings around her fingers.

"But no, you choose to sit in a musty study hall with all the other proles and work to earn a degree that will give you what exactly? A chance to work with other grubby people? You disappoint me Laila." she said, emphasizing the word 'disappoint'.

Laila's anger boiled up at Katarina's condescending attitude. She felt like a bug under a microscope and squirmed at her Aunt's censure. She should hold her tongue, but she was too immature to manage it.

"If memory serves me well, my father is sitting in a Federal prison right now. How is that a life of privilege?" she argued without thinking.

Katarina's hand slashed through the air, catching Laila hard across the face. Laila reeled backwards and collapsed into the sofa cushions in shock. Grasping her stinging face, she fought back tears.

"You insolent little snipe! Your father pays for your useless education, and don't you ever forget it! As for his temporary lodgings courtesy of the State of Texas, that will soon come to an end. Jan will not need to be there much longer, then he and I can continue with our business endeavours uninterrupted!"

Katarina's face was contorted in rage, red and blotchy, glassy eyed and almost frothing as the words spilled out of her mouth. Laila was terrified. This was the Aunt she recognized, the woman who instilled fear in both Laila and her mother years ago. This was the woman who had appeared out of nowhere one day at her foster mother's house and frightened them both so badly. Her father had ignored them when they left Europe, but Katarina never could let it go. She wanted them to be cowed by her.

Katarina leaned in so close to Laila, her hot breath fanned the girl's face.

"If you think you are going back to Austin, you are even more simple minded than I imagined. You will stay here, until my business here is finished, then I will be taking your ungrateful ass back to Slovakia with me, where you will learn the language properly, and learn the family business." Katarina was almost whispering, her anger coming out in her venomous hiss. "Your father will soon join us there and you had better be prepared to follow his instructions to the letter. Am I making myself clear to you, or do I need a crayon and paper?"

Laila couldn't speak, couldn't move. She stared dumbly at her tormentor and nodded slightly in reply. As if a switch had been thrown, something in her eyes changed and Katarina suddenly leaned back and smiled sweetly at her niece. "Wonderful Just wonderful." she purred softly. "I knew you would understand. I'm glad we had this talk."

Katarina stood up and smoothed her clothes and hair. She strode out of the room looking as composed and calm as when Laila had first entered the room. Laila looked at her retreating figure in a shocked daze and realized yet again, that her Aunt was completely crazy. Crazy and deadly.

Laila leaned over and watched her Aunt through the window as she crossed the yard and joined her two bodyguards as they made their way over to the small building behind the house. She was going to the torture room where Patrick sat awaiting his fate! Laila had to do something, anything. This might be her only chance! She leapt off the sofa and ran back upstairs and bolted into the study Katarina used for all of her correspondence and business meetings. She ran through the room like a wild animal, searching for a cell phone or laptop, anything to send out a call for help. There was nothing! No land line, no cell phone anywhere, no laptop or desktop computer. What the hell? Did Katarina lock them up when she was out of the room? Panting in fear and adrenaline, Laila had to calm herself down. She took a quick look out of the back window and saw her Aunt step into the little building. She still had some time! She ran out of the study and instead headed to Katarina's master bedroom. As she skidded to a halt outside the imposing door, she hesitated. What if the door was rigged with an alarm? What if it brought a flood of grey men streaming up the staircase and straight to her, trapping her in the hallway with no hope of an escape?

Laila's hands were sweating with apprehension, but it was now or never. She decided to throw her fears aside and do what needed to be done. If Katarina killed her as well as Patrick, so be it. This was no way to go through life, always in fear, always ashamed. She reached out and took hold of the polished brass door knob and gave it a small turn. Nothing. She tried again, harder this time. It didn't budge. Dammit! She shook it violently and still it did not yield. Katarina had locked it behind her, clearly not trusting anyone in the house. Laila felt like a deflating balloon, slack and tired, defeated by a simple lock. She slammed her hand against the impenetrable door, then turned around and walked sadly down the hall back to her room, her only refuge for the time being. If there was a way to get into that room, she didn't know how she would find it. Her door closed quietly behind her as she threw herself on her bed, tears streaming down her sore face.

XXXXXX

Patrick sat upright in the cold metal chair, still dazed and exhausted by the ordeal he had just survived. What kind of psychopath would freeze someone to death? But he was still alive. Was that also the plan, to almost kill him, time and time again? Would Katarina just keep toying with him until he died from starvation, dehydration and exhaustion? Whatever Katarina wanted from him, other than this, he wished she would just come out with it and tell him. And what about Laila? How did she fit into all of this? He feared for her if he died and could not somehow rescue her. Patrick especially did not want to think about Teresa and the baby. If he let his mind go there now, in his weakened condition, he might not survive the heartbreak.

The room was warming up and Patrick's clothes had defrosted, leaving them cold and wet. He was completely miserable. Evening was approaching, judging from the low amount of light outside the small window, and he had not eaten anything for more than two days. The water Laila had given him in the middle of the night was also his last. His stomach contracted painfully, eating away at itself in a relentless attempt to procure nourishment. Patrick's mouth was fuzzy and felt like cotton, his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth and thick from dehydration. To say that he was light headed was an understatement. The room was swaying and lurching, and keeping his eyes open took too much of an effort as there was nothing he could focus on for any length of time. Being completely still due to his restraints had only one benefit. His ribs had taken a beating by Thing 1 and Thing 2, but remaining still was resting his injuries and his ribs felt better. Perhaps they were not broken after all. Sleep was an inviting escape from his present limitations and Patrick eagerly hoped to descend down that rabbit hole as soon as possible.

He had finally dozed off and slept for over an hour. He was blissfully unaware as the door swung open and the two grey men entered the room, followed by Katarina. She cast her eyes around the shabby room and then let them rest on her captive. She walked over to him with feline grace and examined her sleeping enemy. He was no longer handsome, or charming, but a pathetic, rumpled wet lump of humanity who repulsed her. She reached down and ran a hand over his stubbly face, testing his body temperature. He didn't stir. She lifted his head up by a handful of hair and gazed into his slack face, looking for some sign of resignation, of defeat, of hopelessness. But with Patrick, she would have to wait a little longer to get what she desired.

She turned and spoke at length to her men, who nodded and stepped forward. Katarina slid out of the door and made her way back to the big house without looking back. The men busied themselves with cutting the zip ties at Patrick's feet and arms. Patrick immediately started to pitch sideways out of the chair. Thing 1 caught him and righted him before putting his arms around his prisoner's body. With a might heave, Thing 1 picked Patrick up like a rag doll and threw him over his shoulder. Thing 2 opened the door and watched as his compatriot stepped out with Patrick into the night. Locking the door, Thing 2 joined Thing 1 and his burden, and both men walked towards the house. Patrick never stirred during this process as his exhaustion had carried him to new depths of dreamless sleep. No one in that little group noticed the tear-stained face of a young woman watching their slow process across the yard from her upstairs bedroom window.

XXXXXXXX

Teresa got back to the cabin and dropped her bag by the front door. She was not just physically tired, she was emotionally wrung out. Keeping her professional demeanor all day was so difficult when the case they were working on concerned the most important person in her life. She felt dirty and in need of a refreshingly hot shower. She made her way through the cabin, acutely aware now of every little thing touched by Patrick's caring hand. His patient handiwork could be seen in the beautifully sanded and polished wooden floors throughout the living and dining rooms. He had drywalled and painted throughout, making a tired old shack a fresh and inviting home for his new family. She passed through the kitchen to put on a pot of decaf coffee and gazed around at this sun filled space. A large island graced this addition to the original building, and the extra large pantry in the corner of the room was filled with all of the essentials and some luxurious food items that Patrick could turn into wonderful meals for her and their friends. The kitchen looked out over a large mowed back yard, with newly worked up flower beds, containing small shrubs and perennials and annuals. Patrick delighted in introducing her to gardening, as a relaxing pastime, but also as a wonderful way to anticipate the changing ebb and flow to the seasons indigenous to this part of Texas. He couldn't wait until next spring when his handiwork finally sprang forth in a riot of colours and textures. He was remarkably close to the earth, the sea and the sky. The sun and the outdoors revived him like water to a thirsty plant.

Teresa smiled as she looked at the photos lining the hall leading to their master bedroom, 'The O.K. Corral' as Jane teasingly called it. The photos documented their travels and good times together with the most important people in their lives. Prominently displayed was the ultrasound picture of their tiny baby. Sighing as she relived that wondrous moment months ago, she continued on to the bedroom. She dropped her clothes in the hamper and entered their spacious ensuite bathroom and turned on the shower. While the water heated up, she looked at the room with new eyes. Patrick had insisted on a large walk-in shower. He had said that it was no fun showering alone, and that to conserve water, they should shower together to save the planet…. nudge nudge, wink wink..

She stepped in and let the water cascade through her scalp and surround her large belly. The baby kicked and rejoiced at the sensation. She held the moving mound under her hands and spoke to their baby.

"Keep in there a little longer Rose Bud. Daddy isn't home yet. Wait for him with me, OK?"

There was no way to tell when the shower water and the tears became one, but Teresa stayed in the welcoming water until she was ready to come out calm and able to finally rest.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Cho and Wylie returned to the office and immediately called a meeting of the agents working the case. They had a solid lead to follow. Katarina Nemic had a private jet, and it most likely had landed somewhere in Maine over 24 hours ago. They had to contact every airfield to find out if any private jets had flown in from Austin in that timeframe, who the registered owner of the jet was, the tail numbers of the jet and anything else pertinent to the case. There had to be a paper trail linking the departure and the arrival of this jet somewhere in Austin and Maine. If one existed, the FBI would find it.

The agents took their assignments and scattered. Wylie resumed his search of the internet to find whatever he could on the elusive Katarina Nemic.

One coffee and 20 minutes later, Wylie let out a whoop and called Cho to come back to the bullpen. When Cho got to Wylie's desk, he found the young agent beaming like a kid on his birthday.

'S'up?" asked Cho with control.

"This!" said Wylie, turning his laptop around to show his boss what he had found.

"Meet Katarina Nemic!"

The screen was filled with an old black and white photo of a group of women in a small Slovakian village, with Jan Nemic prominently shown in the front. He was very young, just in his 20's and clearly the returning hero in his hometown village. The story was a feature in the local paper about how he had a beautiful American car. Standing next to him was a blushing young girl, possibly Marta Kovac, and a tall, imperious woman in her later 20's standing very close to Jan. The caption named Jan and his sister Katarina, the most successful people to have made it out of their tiny village.

"Can you expand that photo and clean up the image?" asked Cho, clearly pleased that this insignificant bit of local news from long ago was now going to help them get Jane back.

"Sure thing. I'll run it through some filters and sharpen up the edges, shouldn't take too long."

"When you have it bring me a copy and distribute the image of Katarina to all of our agents. If she was seen at an airport in the last 36 hours I want to know about it!"

"Yes sir!"

As soon as the image was improved and handed out, there was a buzz of excitement running through the bullpen as the agents got ready to hit the road. Cho decided to wait with calling Teresa just in case she was sleeping. Hell, if he waited a bit longer, he might have even more good news to tell her.

XXXXXXXXX

Finally a break in the case! Now to narrow the search. Thank you to all the new followers and favourites. You make my heart sing!


	11. All Or Nothing At All

**This is going to be a long chapter as there was no way I could interrupt the action until it had run its' course. Please review and let me know how you think it is going.**

 **Disclaimer: I make no money from these scribblings!**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 11 All Or Nothing at All

Katarina made her way down the central hallway of the large old farmhouse. It led from the foyer in the front of the house, past the living and dining rooms that branched off this main passageway, to the back of the house, where the kitchen and laundry facilities had been updated and enlarged. The entire house had been modernized and updated, while retaining its' beautiful old finishes, including brass trimmed door hinges and knobs, foot high baseboards, 12 foot high ceilings and stained glass windows. The exterior of the house had been left alone, looking distressed and weathered. The porch sagged a bit and the paint was fading on the trim. Altogether it looked well loved but poorly maintained, which was exactly what Katarina wanted. She did not want eager real estate agents driving out to the property trying to get inside to give her an evaluation on her fabulous house. If they thought it wasn't so fabulous judging by the outside, maybe they would stay away and not see what they shouldn't see. So far it had worked for years. She stopped part way down the hall beside a door set into the wood trimmed wall and unlocked it. She stepped through and disappeared. Some time later the grey men opened the front door and entered the house, with Patrick still slung over the first man's shoulder. They took the same route through the house and stopped at the same door, each stepping through and closing the door behind them.

They did not see Laila hiding behind the dining room door, observing their progress. When they were far enough ahead, she crept out and tip-toed a bit further down the hall and then secreted herself just behind an open closet door. The men were too busy maneuvering Patrick through the door in the wall to notice Laila watching their struggles. They had disappeared in the same way as Katarina. Laila made her way silently over to the door and put her ear to it, afraid of being discovered at any moment. She could hear footsteps going down what sounded like old wooden steps, the sound of a body scraping against the wall as it got bumped along the way, and the grunts of the unfortunate man assigned to carry it.

She had not wandered through the whole house in her short time there and now realized she had to learn as much as possible about it if she and Patrick were to get out of there on their own. She quietly slipped back to the staircase at the front of the house and ran up the stairs to hide in her room, praying Katarina would forget about her for the rest of the day. She waited at the top of the stairs and eventually saw Thing 1 and Thing 2 walk heavily down the hall and exit the house through the front door. Katarina was still out of sight. Laila could do nothing until she knew her Aunt was in her room and asleep for the night. Turning towards her bedroom, Laila knew that getting to Patrick was her next priority. But where to find a key to that door?

XXXXXXXX

Katarina waited at the bottom of the old wooden stairs for the grey men to arrive with Patrick. They came down the last few steps and walked towards her. She wordlessly turned and made her way through the small first room and switched on lights as she led them to a much larger area dug out under the house. A sitting area had been created, with a table and several chairs sitting on the hard packed dirt floor, an old chandelier hanging over the table. Along the side of the room there was a metal door set into the wall, and this is where she led her men. Katarina produced another key and opened the door, throwing it wide to allow the bulky men to enter with their load. Inside the room was a cot just large enough for one person, covered with a sheet and an old blanket. There was a very tired looking pillow on the cot and beside it stood an rickety bedside table holding a tin jug of cold water and a plastic cup.

Patrick had awakened as he was bumped along the wall on his way to the basement of the house. Still hanging upside down, he had surreptitiously opened his eyes and unsurprisingly saw the backside and feet of the grey man carrying him down down down. When they stopped at the bottom of the stairs he dared to open his eyes again and took a quick peek at his surroundings. The room had a dirt floor and smelled musty, damp. There were discarded household items and boxes filled with assorted out of date items littering the room. Raising his eyes a bit higher, Patrick realized he was looking at the back of Katarina Nemic as she led the little group to another room. He quickly dropped his head and closed his eyes, feigning a deep state of unconsciousness. He felt the man carrying him step down into another room and this one felt cooler and larger somehow. He opened one eye and saw a table and chairs as they approached a wall on the far side of the room, maybe 20 feet away. He closed his eyes again and heard a door unlock and yawn open. A few steps later and he felt himself get lowered gently onto the little cot. They still assumed he was asleep. Good. He wasn't up for another confrontation with the minions just yet. He kept his eyes relaxed and listened well. The men left the room and he sensed Katarina approaching. She stood over his bed and stared at his still body. She took in his messy curls and the 3 days of whiskery stubble on his face. She leaned down and felt his clothes, still wet from his ordeal in the torture room. She walked over to a shelf on the wall and came back, dropping something on the end of the bed. Lingering for a few moments more, she then turned and went out the door, locking it behind her. Patrick didn't move, hardly breathed, hoping she was not watching him through a window in the door.

After waiting a good 5 minutes in this suspended state, Patrick opened his eyes to a tiny slit, and dared to risk stealing a glance at the door. No window. He surveyed the room and found no one else sitting watching him. Realizing he was totally alone, he open his eyes fully and sat up. The lump on his feet was a package of dry clothes! He looked inside and found a long sleeved black cotton t-shirt, blue jeans, socks and a pair of boxer shorts. Looking at these clothes made him realize how wet and uncomfortable he was. Slipping off the bed, he quickly divested himself of his dirty and wet clothes and put them on the shelf to dry. Gratefully slipping on the fresh underwear, he then put on the jeans and cotton top. The pants were too loose in the waist but they would do. Next, he carefully retrieved the shard of broken mirror out of the top of his sock and slipped it into the cuff of one of the fresh socks Katarina had so thoughtfully provided. Feeling the glass safely tucked away once again, Patrick lay back down on the bed, grateful for the somewhat soft surface, and dry blanket. He drew the warm wool closely around himself and resolved to get as comfortable as possible. Being frozen to death had been hard work, and now he needed to rest. It had been a bad day all around and night had finally arrived. Patrick hoped Katarina would leave him alone. He had survived two full days at the hands of his captor. Whatever game Katarina was playing with him, it was clear she was trying to terrify him and break his spirit, but not necessarily kill him, no matter what she may have told him on his first day of captivity. He had narrowly avoided death by hypothermia, and now she was treating him kindly, even helping him. What was that about? His mind played with that thought until the coziness of the warm blanket and softness of the mattress drew him away to a much safer and kinder place.

XXXXXXXXXX

Austin, Texas

Teresa arrived back at the FBI headquarters physically refreshed and mentally renewed. She stopped at Wylie's desk and he told her they were looking for a private jet that might have been used to transport Jane out of Austin. The rest he decided to let Cho share with her. She eagerly headed to Cho's office to see what else had happened in her absence. She found him head down, studying some reports on his desk and had to clear her throat for him to finally notice her.

"Oh sorry, I didn't hear you come in!" he apologized, indicating a chair for her to sit down.

She pulled a chair up to his desk and asked the question he knew was coming.

"I didn't get a call. What's up Cho? Any leads? Anything new we can work on?"

He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest, exhaling a breath with a stern look on his face. Lisbon knew that look. She waited, knowing he had something to say, and either good or bad, it was always hard to tell with Cho.

"Did you get some rest Teresa? Because if you stayed up and spent the whole time working the case from home…"

"Absolutely not, I promise." She indicated her round belly and smiled. "Jane Jr. here and I had a nice long shower and a nap, not that it didn't kill me trying not to call you every half hour."

Cho smiled for the first time and relaxed his shoulders. "Good. We do have some news, but we haven't had a payoff yet."

He told her about their visit with Erica Flynn and the help she had provided, at a cost. Lisbon was surprised that Patrick could be as close as the state of Maine, but was so grateful that he had not been flown to Europe. Cho took a sheet of paper and slid it across his desk towards Lisbon, who leaned forward eagerly to see what he had found. She saw a grainy black and white photo of a young couple from a long time ago. She looked up with a question on her face.

"That's Jan Nemic, and to his right, we suspect is his sister, Katarina."

Lisbon looked again at the photo with renewed interest.

"Cho, that's great! If someone at one of the airports remembers seeing her fly out in her private jet, we can move forward and finally find her!"

Cho looked at the photo once more but didn't seem as happy as Lisbon.

"We were hoping someone had seen her at an airport in or around Austin, but no one anywhere has seen a woman even remotely like Katarina at all, not all week. She's a ghost."

Lisbon took back the photo and studied it again. "Cho, let's go over what we know about her so far, because we are missing something obvious here."

"OK?" Cho answered in curiosity. "What are you thinking Teresa?"

She sat back and held the photo in her hand. She took her time and Cho waited for her, not wanting to interrupt her chain of thought. She finally looked up and seemed to have reached some kind of conclusion.

"What do we know about Katarina Nemic? We didn't know she existed until two days ago. She is the sister of a major crime boss, yet even when he was arrested, he didn't mention her and we didn't find any links to her. So that tells me she is very practiced at remaining in the shadows. She is not looking for glory or fame in that closed criminal society. Her strength is her anonymity."

Cho nodded in agreement. "And?"

"And, we know that she is very close to Jan, very supportive of him. But she doesn't like Laila very much considering she is her brother's child. She wanted to take Laila out of the States 5 years ago and mold her into one of the "family" to continue their work in Europe. Laila is afraid of her, but she helped Katarina kidnap Patrick. So Katarina has a sword hanging over Laila's head, right? That must be the only reason a university student who hates her family would actually commit a criminal act for them."

"Makes sense."

"Cho, what if we are looking for the wrong person? What if Katarina didn't come to Austin a few days ago to arrange Patrick's kidnapping, but stayed in the shadows like she always does. She could have been waiting for the jet to arrive with Jane and no one would ever know she was involved."

Cho turned this over in his mind and had to agree it seemed to fit Katarina's personality type.

Lisbon looked at Cho as the final piece of the puzzle dropped into place.

"Cho, we are wasting our time looking for Katarina. The persons on that jet were Laila and Patrick! We need to circulate Laila's photo."

Cho leaned back and picked up his phone. A moment later Wylie came into the office, looking from Lisbon to Cho and back again. Something had happened.

"Wylie, get the best photo you can find of Laila Kovac out to our agents in the field and tell them that from now on we are looking for anyone who saw her at any airport in and around Austin in the last 3 days. Go!" he barked, sending Wylie scurrying off to do his bidding.

"Thanks Cho" Lisbon said, glad that he thought her idea had merit.

"I should have seen that myself. Thanks go to you Teresa."

She smiled and got up to return to the bullpen. Being in the midst of the investigation had given her energy a boost, and she was determined to contribute as much as possible. Now it would just be a waiting game until someone out in the field found an eyewitness with a good memory. If the team had to work all night, they would do it to find Jane.

XXXXXXX

(The next morning, Maine safe house…)

Patrick awoke with a start and sat bolt upright in the narrow bed. The sudden motion gave him a nasty case of the spins, most likely due to his extreme hunger. He grasped the metal edge of the bed and tried to stop the room from lurching and tipping like a carnival ride. As the room gradually came to a stop, he looked around, trying to get his bearings, trying to remember where he was. The room was old and dirty, cramped and claustrophobic. There was a toilet in the corner and a jug of water on the little table beside his bed. Thinking hard, he remembered being brought down here some time the night before and being dumped onto the bed. Taking in his new accommodations, Patrick realized the room for what it was, a cell. He gingerly stood up on weak legs and holding the walls for support, made his way over to the toilet in the corner and relieved himself for the first time in many many hours. The fact that he had not gone for so long worried him. He must be dehydrated. Considering the thickness of his tongue, that was the case. He woozily wobbled over the dirt floor and returned to his bed, sinking down slowly, happy to be off his unreliable legs. Reaching out for the water jug, he paused for a moment and considered if it was drugged. Since there was no way of knowing, and he was desperately in need of a drink, he took his chances and poured himself a full cup of the cool liquid. He couldn't remember the finest wine in the world tasting as good as this water did at that moment. He poured another cupful and after finishing it, got up again, a bit more steady this time on his feet. Looking down, he found his shoes and put them on, a barrier against the cold and damp of the earthen floor. He slowly strolled over to the door and put his ear against it, straining to hear if anyone was standing guard on the other side. While it was silent, that didn't mean that the room beyond was empty, so he turned and wandered over to the small shelf on the wall. Seeing his clothes there drying, he looked down and realized he was wearing new, ill-fitting clothes. Smiling at his forgetfulness, he searched for anything else of interest in the room. There wasn't anything. No mirror, no shaving utensils, no comb or soap. Nothing that could be used for an escape attempt.

'Very smart Katarina' he thought to himself. Remembering his flight, he reached into the pocket of his almost dry jeans and fished out a packet of soap stolen from the jet. Taking off his shirt, he turned on the tap of the small sink by the toilet and happily washed his hands and face, lathering up his neck and upper body, getting as clean as he could. There was a small but clean towel folded under his night table which did the job of drying him off. Finding a nail in the wall, he hung it up to dry and put his shirt back on. Looking around his cell he realized there was nothing else to do except wait for whatever surprise Katarina came up with on day 3 of his new life.

Patrick had no window in his cell and therefore no real way of telling how much time had elapsed, when finally he heard a key engage the lock, and his door swung open. Thing 1 entered the room and with a flick of his finger, indicated to Patrick that he needed to get up and go out of the door. Squeezing past the grey man, Jane exited his cell and stepped into the larger room he had only slightly glimpsed the night before. Sitting at the table underneath the lopsided old chandelier sat Katarina, cradling a steaming cup of something that smelled delicious. Thing 1 pushed Patrick forward and indicated a chair opposite Ms. Nemic.

"Good morning Mr. Jane. I hope you found your room to your liking?" she said softly, like the hostess of a bed and breakfast hotel.

"Yes, I did. Thank you" he replied warily. He didn't trust her for a moment.

"From watching you for so long I know you appreciate fine tea as much as I do. Would you like a cup of Earl Grey Breakfast Tea Mr. Jane?"

"Yes, please, that would be lovely. Thank you." Patrick felt like he was in a weird sort of play, acting out a character on an underground stage.

Thing 1 responded to a nod of Katarina's head and brought an old china teapot over to the table and poured a cup of tea into Jane's waiting cup.

"I took the liberty of adding the milk to your cup first Mr. Jane, I hope that is the way you like it? she purred.

"You know that's how I like it Ms. Nemic" he smiled back weakly. He was sure she knew absolutely everything about him now and had for quite some time.

Thing 1 stepped back from the table but stood watch close by. Since he didn't understand English, Katarina could speak freely with her 'guest'.

Patrick picked up his delicate cup with a shaky hand and took a long sip of the warm and rich brew. The flavour burst on his tongue and brought so many memories flooding into his brain he had to shut his eyes to stop from revealing his moment of weakness in front of the Boss Lady. The taste brought images of his sun-filled kitchen to mind, sitting across from Teresa, who was nursing a cup of decaf coffee, her hand drawing lazy circles on her large belly. He wanted to lean over and kiss those lips and put his hand on her tight top, hoping to feel the life that dwelled underneath the stretched fabric…

His eyes flew open, and he saw the sly smile on Katarina's face. Damn. She had caught him.

Trying to sound unemotional, he spoke again. "This is perfect tea, thank you."

She nodded and took another sip from her cup. It was like a dance, a slow motion cat and mouse confrontation, both waiting for the other to begin the actual attack.

Patrick took one more sip and then put his cup down on his saucer, always the gentleman. He sat back and folded his hands in his lap. And waited. This was Katarina's game, so let her make the first move. He had all day.

Watching him with shrewd eyes, Katarina finished her tea, taking her time, and then pushed the cup aside.

"Mr. Jane, I think it is time we discuss your future."

"My future? Go on…"

"I am referring to the future you do not have anymore, and the future you can have from this day forward" she said with authority. "That future."

"And what future do I not have anymore, since I am not able to see into the future myself... "

"Don't be coy with me Mr. Jane, of course you know perfectly well which future I refer to. The future you planned to spend with your lovely wife Teresa, and the child she carries at this moment. That future is no longer on the table. It must be replaced with a better plan."

"I am quite content with that future and really have no need of anything else. There is no better plan" he replied with concern.

"Oh but there is Mr. Jane, there is. There is the future where you work for me and Jan. Why waste your many talents working for the FBI, or worse than that, why retire from the FBI to raise your baby out in the country while your wife works for the agency? That would be a travesty, surely?"

"Oddly enough, I don't want to join the Nemic family business Katarina. Is that what all this is about?" he said, waving his hand around to indicate the room they were sitting in. "Am I here so that you can convince me to turn my back on my family and work for you?"

"Patrick, if I may call you by your first name… that is most certainly what is going to happen, and you will do it willingly and happily, just like all of my other men…" she said, looking at the grey man hovering just out of earshot.

Patrick picked up his cup and sipped the warm tea silently. He took his time and finally finished the cup.

"That was wonderful. Thank you Katarina. As to your proposal, I'm afraid that will never happen. To think so is a fantasy, unworthy of you" he said, knowing he was pushing her buttons again.

Her jaw tightened and her eyes flashed for a moment. He was getting to her, as he hoped. But she needed him, he didn't need her. So how to play this out?

"Mr. Jane, I assure you this is not a fantasy but a very well established protocol. Where do you think I get my people from after all? Everyone has something they love, something they can't bear to lose. Take my man over there…. he was once as determined as you to have his own sad little future with his wife and daughters."

Jane looked over at the passive face of the grey man.

"But I saw potential in him. Not big potential, but he could be led and used quite efficiently as you have discovered. I took him and kept him for as long as it took to convince him that his life with me would mean continued life for his wife and girls. If he had insisted on being 'his own man", his family would have met with a very unfortunate end. One which he witnessed with his own eyes when another of my men with potential disappointed me."

'So you killed a man's family to bring him in line? Is that it?" Jane asked with incredulity.

"Well yes and no. I killed his family, then after he found out, I killed him. My other guests," she waved at grey man #1, "saw the errors of their ways and became much more willing to join our happy family."

"And their families?"

"Oh I can assure you they are well and being taken care of. As long as my men are loyal to me, I leave their families alone. They just can't ever leave to see them again. It's a small price to pay for their continued good health."

Patrick felt sweat trickling down the inside of his shirt sleeves. He was dealing with a lunatic, and lunatics were very hard to manipulate.

"So if I see the error of my ways?..."

"If you see the error of your ways , your wife Teresa and your baby will have a long and prosperous life, just not with you. You will belong to me."

Katarina sank back in her chair and smiled the smile of a woman so far removed from reality that it made Jane's skin crawl.

Katarina raised her index finger and the grey man sprang into action, grabbing Jane around the upper body and lifting him forcefully out of his chair. Jane fought as hard as he could to repel the hard grey man, but he eventually dragged Patrick kicking and fighting back to his cell. When Katarina's man got there he methodically beat Patrick until he collapsed onto the floor. Kicking dirt up into Jane's face, the silent man stepped back through the door and locked it, leaving Patrick bleeding and unconscious yet again, back on Katarina's weird treadmill of control.

XXXXX

 **So Katarina gives a little and then she takes a lot. Is that how she breaks people? How long can a person live like that? Lisbon and Cho are onto something, but they had better hurry up!**


	12. Eat And Run

**Thanks for the new reviews, you make me happy!**

 **Whoah, another long chapter ahead. Teresa is on to something and maybe it will lead to her poor husband. Sifting through all the leads takes time, time which Patrick may not have anymore!**

 **Disclaimer: The Mentalist is not mine, not mine I tell ya!**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 12 Eat and Run

Cho and his team in Austin worked throughout the evening, trying to uncover more information now that they knew what the elusive Katarina Nemic looked like. First thing in the morning Cho would go to the Federal prison which housed Jan Nemic. What did he know of Katarina's activities? Did he help to plan the kidnapping with his sister? Was his sister working on her own? What was the division of power between the two siblings? Where exactly was her safe house in Maine? Cho wrote a list of questions that he hoped Jan would answer, but truthfully, there was nothing in it for Jan. His incarceration would continue and his conditions would not improve in maximum security. So why help the FBI? And why would he turn on his sister? Cho had no other option but to speak with him, but he didn't anticipate a good outcome.

Even though it was getting late on this second full day of Patrick's disappearance, Teresa busied herself with helping Wylie research both Katarina Nemic and the crimes conducted by the Nemic family that were known to the FBI. Admittedly, there wasn't much to go on, but maybe there was a nugget of information there that just had to be loosened and lifted from the unimportant larger picture. It appeared that most of Jan Nemic's business was conducted overseas, from the safety of Slovakia or Beirut. Slovakia would not be a route of discovery they could tackle. The language barrier they faced in dealing with officials there and the unknown location of his safe house was a road block they didn't have time to contend with. But the FBI had taken possession of Jan's apartment in downtown Beirut, effectively emptying it of all paperwork, laptops, files and books and transporting it all the the FBI for analysis. Links to Jan Nemic's criminal activities and the key players in those pursuits had been the main interest of research at the time FBI agents had combed through this treasure trove of material. Was there something in all of that information that mentioned a place in Maine? Was Maine mentioned at all?

Teresa was musing about this and looked at the mountain of information they had to go through. Looking at Wylie, hunched over his computer in concentration, she had an idea worth pursuing.

"Wylie, is there any way we can categorize the information we gathered from Jan Nemic's paper trail in Beirut, including anything we found on his computers?"

"Categorize how?

"Well, can we group the types of information we have found so far into areas of criminality, such as smuggling those fake passport chips, illegal import export, drug trafficking, kidnappings, influence peddling, meddling in politics in the Middle East and Eastern Europe….. things like that?"

Wylie considered this for a moment before he spoke.

"Ahhh... it would take some doing, but depending on how the evidence has been entered into our database, I could take a stab at it. Which one of these areas of criminal activity should I focus on?"

"None of them. What we are looking for is the information that falls through the cracks, information entered that does not fall into any of the normal categories of activity we would be interested in for purposes of making an arrest."

Wylie looked at her in confusion, not seeing what she had imagined. "And that helps how?"

Teresa smiled and sat on Jane's sofa. She tried to explain her vision.

"The way I see it, Jan was all business, but we don't know how much of that business also included his sister. Did she play a large part or just a small part. So we group everything, see what falls out and see if in that fallout we learn more about Katarina and possibly, her activities in the States. We might even get a lead on her safe house."

A grin was forming on Wylie's face as he saw the logic of Teresa's argument. He turned around and with a few keystrokes, his computer screen filled with data. As his fingers flew over the keyboard, Teresa lay back against the cushions of the sofa, thankful that Wylie thought her idea had merit, wondering just where and what her husband was doing at that exact moment.

Wylie dove into his new project and lost all track of time. This line of discovery was proving interesting but very time consuming. He worked until Cho came out of his office and ordered both he and Teresa to go home and get some sleep. It wouldn't do Patrick any good if the team was too tired to think clearly tomorrow.

XXXXXXXX

(Day three of Patrick's disappearance, Austin)

Teresa had had a restless night and finally threw off the bed covers and hit the shower early. She wanted to get back to work and see what had happened overnight. Wylie had worked out a program to filter like and unlike information from Nemic's database so that it would be easier to see those pieces of intel that did not fit into any category. It was a longshot, but unless a miracle happened, it was their only shot at all at finding Katarina, and Jane.

She drove to the FBI office preoccupied by these same thoughts, energized by the possibilities of new information. She did not notice the small silver van following her. It deftly blended into the traffic streaming into downtown Austin, a traffic nightmare for all who lived there. Arriving at work a good hour earlier than normal, she looked forward to spending the whole day helping Cho and Wylie make sense of any new developments.

When the elevator doors slid open, she was surprised to see Wylie back at his desk. She was not the only one eager to get back in the saddle. Just then Cho came around the corner on his way out of his office.

"Morning Teresa. 'Bout time you got here" he teased, knowing he and Wylie were ridiculously early themselves.

"I didn't want to make the two of you look bad!" she retorted, heading for the kitchen to make a batch of decaf coffee.

Ten minutes later she was standing over Wylie's shoulder, scanning his confusing data and trying to make sense out of his program.

"Anything falling out that we can use?" she asked hopefully.

"Nah…. it's too early to say just yet" mumbled Wylie, completely engrossed in his work.

Teresa was disappointed but not surprised. This would take time. She had to be patient, and if there was one thing she was sadly lacking these days, it was patience. She wandered into Cho's office and plunked herself down on a chair in front of his desk.

"Wylie told me what you came up with last night" Cho told her. "Good plan, I hope it pans out."

"Thanks, me too. I hear you are going to pay a visit to Jan Nemic this morning."

"Yup, not that I anticipate getting much out of him" Cho admitted with a sigh.

Teresa leaned forward and fixed Cho with an intent stare.

"Let me come with you Cho"

"No. You should stay here and take it easy Lisbon. Need I remind you how far along you are in your pregnancy?" he said softly.

"And need I remind you that without Jane in my life, how am I going to raise this baby? Cho, I need to be of use. Maybe Nemic will respond to me if he shuts you down. We can't risk losing whatever chance we have with him." She looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Please Cho…"

He leaned back in his chair and studied her face. She was one of the toughest and most steadfast women and police officers he had ever met. She was hard to turn down. This was her family at risk.

He turned off his desk lamp and switched off his computer.

"Ok, you can come. Be prepared for a negative reception and Nemic stonewalling us."

"Like that has never happened before!" she smiled, happy to have swayed her old friend.

Leaving Wylie to his herculean task, they headed out in a black SUV towards the Federal prison. A lot was riding on what they would learn this morning. If they got lucky, perhaps they would be on the trail of Katarina and Patrick before the day was finished.

They merged into the bumper to bumper traffic and eventually left the clogged city for the open highway leading to the prison, as did the silver van following them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Patrick lay on the cold damp dirt floor of his cell. The beating the grey man had given him had knocked him out but had not done much damage to his body other than leave it covered in bruises and contusions. 20 minutes later he began to stir, moaning and shifting his sore body around on the unrelenting hard surface looking for comfort. A concussion was slowing his reflexes and thinking processes but gradually, his mind began to swim to the surface of consciousness, and his eyes opened.

He was laying splayed out in the dirt, his clothes clammy and his body chilled. He looked up and saw the ceiling directly above him. Looking around, he realized that he was on the floor because his little cot had been removed from his room, as had the bedside table and jug of water. Whatever creature comforts Katarina had previously allowed him, she had removed them as punishment for his arrogance and refusal to accept her offer of a job for life with her.

Patrick rolled up as best he could, groaning with pain as his ribs and arms rebelled against being moved. He got to his knees and waited, his head swimming with dizziness. He was in no hurry to get up. Where would he go? Where would he sit? He sat back on his haunches and surveyed his depressing surroundings and knew that this would be his life from now on, until either he cracked, escaped somehow, or Katarina killed him out of anger and frustration at his stubbornness.

At least his hands were free. He used one hand to press down into the dirt to push himself into a standing position. He wobbled over to the wall and held it as he made his way over to the shelf on the other side of the room. His shirt was still lying there, for the most part dry now. Grabbing it and wadding it up into a rectangle, Patrick used it as a cushion against the damp earth and sat down upon it, leaning against a wall. Now it would be a waiting game. What would Katarina do next? Her methods were becoming predictable… scare and torture him for a while, then coddle and compliment him, then beatings and deprivation again, and then what… more coddling and kind words? Was that coming up next in her attempt to sway him? She would have to do better. He could outlast all of that easily enough. What he desperately needed now was food. He had not eaten for three days now and was feeling very weak. Today would have to be different. He needed to make a move to find a way out and find Laila, escaping together from this madhouse.

As his head cleared and he was able to think more clearly, Patrick let his eyes study the room in earnest. There had to be something here he could use, something he had missed the day before. He got up carefully and examined the shelf. It was bolted into the wall and there was no way his fingernails could turn the bolts to loosen them. Plus the bolts would be too big to use to pick the lock. He scanned the sink and the plumbing cable under it and found nothing there. He ran his hands over his face and discovered that it was covered in dirt. Sighing deeply, he turned on the hot water and washed his hands and face and up his arms. He hated being dirty, even in these conditions. He reached up and grabbed the small towel, grateful that Katarina had not removed it from his cell. Rubbing his face vigorously, he looked up at the wall and stopped his exertions with a jolt, realizing the solution to his problem was right in front of him. Smiling deeply, he laid the towel on the edge of the sink and reached up, grasping the slim nail that was hammered into the wall. How could he have missed this tool? He immediately started to wiggle it back and forth, pushing and pulling it with his fingers, cutting them until they bled, working at the nail to enlarge the hole that held it securely in the brick wall.

After 5 minutes of steady work, the nail finally gave up the fight to remain embedded in the wall and fell out onto the dirt floor. Sweeping it up into his hands, Patrick stumbled over to the door and paused to put his ear up against it. Was someone standing guard silently on the other side? Was grey man # 1 waiting for a chance to give him another beating? Was Katarina sitting at the table, laughing at his exertions?

Patrick decided to raise a fuss, see if anyone responded. Pocketing the nail, he pounded on the door and screamed for food. He beat the doors and carried on like his room was on fire.

Nothing.

Panting from his theatrics, Patrick decided he had to take a chance and pick the lock. He withdrew the nail and slipped it into the lock on the steel door. It was a new and complicated lock, not easy to pick, certainly with a nail instead of the correct tools. But he had all day, so he kept at it until he heard a tiny click….

Putting the nail back into his pants pocket, Patrick took the handle of the door and gave it a turn, his hands slick with sweat and trepidation. It opened silently (thank you door gods…) and he gingerly stepped out into the large room. There was no one there. Patrick walked as silently as possible over to the doorway to the smaller room that led to the base of the stairs. Still no one appeared. What time was it? He crept up the stairs, praying they did not squeak and give him away to anyone upstairs. Making his way slowly, Patrick got to the top and stopped, listening for any sign of persons close by. He couldn't hear anyone but his nose told him some useful information. He could make out the scent of food wafting through the air. He must have been near the kitchen and the food that was being prepared. So it was now lunch time! Was Katarina in the dining room eating, or in the living room waiting for lunch to be announced? Either way, it was good news for Patrick, as it was the distraction he needed to escape this dungeon. He slipped the nail into the lock and tried to wiggle the mechanism into opening for him. The lock was old and the nail was not long enough to accommodate the old fashioned tumblers in the lock. Desperate not to blow his one and only chance to get out of there, Patrick tip-toed back down the stairs and looked around the room for a substitute for the small nail. There were boxes of discarded household items, old tools and fixtures scattered around the room. He rooted around in the boxes as quietly as possible, afraid any noise would be detected by those directly above his head. Sweat poured off his forehead as he concentrated his search through the boxes of old toasters, kettles, irons, and the other flotsam and jetsam of a large old house. Jane could almost imagine a giant clock ticking down the minutes until the door at the top of the stairs was thrown open and he was caught once again.

Gently lifting an old kettle out of the way, Jane spied an iron with a long rigid cord, a very old model. He pulled it out of the box and immediately started to work at loosening the cord from the base of the iron. The fabric woven around the cord was old and brittle, and easily pulled away from the wire buried within. Pulling hard, he managed to disengage the cord from the end of the iron and now had a handful of long lengths of wire to work into a lock pick. He chose the wire that had the most strength and discarded the rest. Folding the wire into the shape he felt might work, he once again headed silently up the stairs. The sound of voices right outside the door froze him in mid-step. Pausing to hear if the sound got louder or softer, he dared not breathe. The voices moved away from the door, and Jane heard the clatter of dishes being placed on the table. Soon more voices were added to the mix and the sound of cutlery scraping against china confirmed his hope that Katarina was having her meal. He took the last few steps up to the door and silently eased the wire into the lock, moving it gently around in the old mechanism, listening for the tumblers to move. Sweating profusely now, Patrick took the time to wipe his hands one at a time on his pants, then continued his work. A slight twist here, a tug there, and then a sound that was like music echoed in his ear. The lock was picked!

What to do now? The door was unlocked, and he had to step through it to freedom, or potential recapture. There was nothing more he could do to prepare himself, so Patrick took a deep breath to steady himself and he gently pried the door open, inch by inch, preparing himself for the worst. The door gradually opened wide enough for him to slip through and Patrick found himself in a long hallway, at the back of the house. He turned away from the front of the house, away from the sounds coming from the dining room, and tip-toed into the large kitchen. At the far end of the room stood a tiny woman with her back turned to Jane. She was busily making sandwiches and was totally engrossed in her work. A radio on a shelf overhead played a melancholy song and as she worked, she sang along, blissfully aware of the man right behind her on the other side of the room. Patrick quietly walked ahead, spotting a back door that led to the yard behind the house. He had his hand on the knob and had to give it a twist to get out. All or nothing, it had come to this… all or nothing…

Grasping the doorknob, Patrick turned it as quietly and slowly as possible, and to his immense relief, it opened silently, and then, he was out!

The fresh air hit him like a splash of cold water and he started to descend the back steps when he bumped into a small body that was on her way back up the stairs. Laila stood in front of him, a large sandwich and bottle of juice in her hands. She was so shocked to see him her sandwich started to slide slowly off her plate.

"Oh my God! Mr. Jane! How did you get out?" she gasped.

Completely surprised at seeing Laila outside, Patrick put his finger to his lips and shhhsh'd her, motioning to her to stop talking. He grabbed her by her upper arm and pulled her along with him down the last two steps and around the corner of the house.

"I picked the locks and got out. We have to go now! We have to go, no time to talk!" As he said this he was already on the move, but his hunger and concussion was now slowing him down. Trying to run close to the wall of the house, he felt his balance start to waver and he stumbled and began to fall. Laila dropped her sandwich and juice and steadied him, pulling him back up.

Whispering, she forced him to stop.

"When was the last time you ate anything Mr. Jane?"

He eyed her sandwich and his stomach answered loudly for him. "About 3 days ago…"

"Here, take this and eat it all, and have my juice too" Laila commanded him. "We won't get far if you keep falling over from malnutrition". She wasn't joking and he knew she was right.

Grabbing her sandwich he took a bite and thought he had gone to heaven. Whatever was in that sandwich was now his favourite food in the whole world. As he munched, he managed to ask her a question.

"What are you doing outside? Shouldn't you be inside with your Aunt and her men?"

Laila look disgusted and shook her head.

"I don't want to be here! Aunt Katarina won't let me go home. I can't stand it another day, playing nice and pretending to enjoy Katarina's company. I don't want to sit at a table and try to eat knowing that she is right there across the table from me. Yesterday I ate my lunch sitting outside and she didn't do anything about it. She thinks I am a spoiled difficult teenager. So, today I did the same thing, and here you are!"

Smiling at his good fortune, Patrick scarfed down the sandwich in record time and took a swig of the juice, savouring the tartness of the citrus flavour. Putting the bottle in his pocket he grabbed Laila's hand and looked at her with encouragement.

"Ready to go home?" he asked.

Nodding her head, they both hunched down and ran along the side of the house until they reached an addition to the original house. The addition was behind the room that housed the dining room, so no windows looked from the dining room out onto that stretch of lawn. They looked around for the men in grey, but they must have been eating somewhere also. Jane and Laila bolted for the barn and ran around the backside of it. Pausing just for a moment, Patrick looked around for a vehicle to use to make a run for the highway. There were no cars or trucks sitting there for them to boost, so they had no other choice and had to continue on foot. Patrick headed for a copse of trees close by, followed by Laila. She was in much better shape than him and easily could match his long strides. He unfortunately was not good on his feet, still suffering from malnutrition and a concussion They had very little time to make their way into the forest before Katarina and her men discovered his absence. She would have every vehicle and tool available to her to find her prey, so the only advantage Jane and Laila had was time. He prayed to all the gods that it would be enough.

XXXXXXXX

 **Jane finally caught a bit of good luck! Can he and Laila make it far enough away from Katarina and her men to avoid discovery? If Cho could learn where the safe house was, he could send the help Patrick and Laila so desperately need.**

 **Hang in there with me folks!**


	13. Ghosts of the Past

**Again with a long chapter! Well things are rapidly changing now. Jane has to find a way to reach freedom as he is not out of danger just yet. Will Jan Nemic give Cho and Lisbon any useful information, or will he stonewall them and send them away empty handed?**

 **Thank you so much for your kind comments. I am thrilled that you are so scared for our heros!**

 **Disclaimer: I make no money from these stories. Nada, zilch...**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 13 Ghosts of the Past

Cho and Lisbon chatted about the case all the way to the prison. Lisbon was keen to set her sights on Jan Nemic again. When she had met him in Beirut she had fooled him into thinking she was nothing more than Patrick's girlfriend. She hoped a few months in prison had softened him up a bit and that he would give them a morsel of useful information. Teresa started to list the questions she was going to ask Jan when Cho cut her off.

"I said you could come, but I will question him Lisbon. If you get too emotional about Jane then he will have us both over a barrel and that will be the end of the interview."

Lisbon opened her mouth to argue, but Cho shut her down.

"We aren't going to mention Patrick at all. I will only ask Nemic about his sister. It appears he does still care for his daughter, even though they are estranged. When he finds out she has been taken and is officially missing, we might have the leverage we need to get some answers."

"But what about Jane? He must know where his sister would take him!" countered Lisbon.

"Think about it Teresa. Nemic is in jail right now because Jane out-conned him. Why would Nemic help us to find Jane when he most likely would be thrilled to know someone kidnapped him. Assuming he is not in on the kidnapping in the first place."

"So we don't mention Jane at all?"

"No we don't. If Nemic took him, he won't be able to contain his delight at our concern. But if he didn't take him or arrange it with his sister, I think it will become apparent pretty soon. So, we only discuss Laila and Katarina. Jane is probably still in the same place Katarina took Laila."

Teresa mulled this over, and realized Cho was right. Nemic gained nothing by helping the FBI find Jane. Finding his daughter however might be the key to loosening his tongue regarding his sister.

Cho parked the car and escorted Lisbon into the reception area of the prison, as the silver van surreptitiously pulled in and parked at the far end of the visitor lot. After presenting their credentials to the guard on duty and enduring the tedious processing to enter the facility, Cho and Lisbon were escorted to a meeting room about 10 minutes later. Soon after, the door opened and Jan Nemic was led into the room and handcuffed to the table. Nemic settled himself comfortably and glared at Cho, then Lisbon. His eyes grew large when he realized she was the same woman he had met in Beirut. Whether he noticed her large belly under the table, he did not betray in his expression. Teresa thought he had aged since his capture, his face and hair greyer than it had been a half year earlier. Jan decided to initiate the conversation, enjoying seeing two different faces for a change.

"So, Miss Teresa, we meet again. I thought I would not have the pleasure again" he smiled courteously. "So you did work for the FBI after all."

"Hello again Mr. Nemic. I didn't think we would meet again so soon either, but circumstances have brought us together, out of my control." Lisbon stated flatly.

Nemic raised an eyebrow quizzically and looked between Cho and Lisbon, his face neutral.

"Circumstances? What circumstances could bring you here?" he said slowly. "You have shut down my business, scattered my assets and ruined my reputation with my business partners overseas. What other circumstances could there be to bring you here today?"

Cho studied Nemic's face and saw no sign of false innocence, no nervous body language or an attempt to hide his true feelings. Perhaps the man had no idea of this week's events.

Deciding to just jump in and ask the big question, Cho began.

"Mr. Nemic, what can you tell us about your sister Katarina?" he asked, opening his notepad and lifting his pen.

Nemic looked like he had been slapped, his face grew red and his hands gripped the edge of the table.

"What do you know about my sister, huh? What? She is out of the picture, where she belongs!" he spat out at Cho.

Cho looked at Lisbon and they both knew they had hit Nemic's hot button.

"You tell me Jan. What is your relationship with your sister? Have you been in contact with her lately?"

Nemic's eyes fell to the table as he unconsciously ran his index finger back and forth across the edge of the metal table between them. He was thinking, remembering…

"Well?" prodded Cho, "has she been in contact with you Mr. Nemic?"

Nemic pursed his lips and spoke softly. "I have not spoken to my sister in a long time. It is not possible."

Jan raised his eyes and looked remarkably sad. Lisbon noticed the change in his attitude and leaned in, speaking softly, taking her chance to appeal to him.

"Mr. Nemic, we need to know what you know about your sister and her activities of late. Someone important to you is in danger and we need to act on that" she said, staring into his eyes.

"Who?" he said quietly, afraid of the answer. Then he answered for them.

"It's Laila, isn't it?"

Lisbon answered "yes", surprised at his response.

Nemic let out a long breath and sat back in his chair, thoughts tumbling through his mind, none of them good.

"Sir?" asked Cho. "What can you tell us about your sister?"

Nemic looked at Cho and sat up a bit straighter, trying to come up with an answer… where to begin…..

"My sister… is a brilliant woman Agent Cho…. brilliant… but, such people sometimes cannot deal with life as well as you or I. Their brilliance is also a sort of madness. Katarina was…. as a young woman… so beautiful, smart, really the brains of the family. She was destined for greatness we always believed" he said with a bleak smile.

Cho just nodded, not wanting to interrupt Jan's musings.

"Katarina and I left our village together, since she was the older sister and I was the tough, cocky kid brother" he grinned now at the memory. "We left and got to work, at first for some local crime families, doing their dirty work, grunt work, but over time we took what we learned and started to work for ourselves." A look of pride now infused Nemic's face.

"We started calling the shots, as they say in the American movies. Business was good, money was flowing in and life improved for my sister and I. We went back home one summer driving a big American car to impress the people in my village. I knew a girl there, Marta, and I wanted to show off to her how well I had done in life." He shook his head at the memory. He shot a glance up at Teresa, a look of intense emotion in his eyes.

"Kids huh? They're all the same ….."

"And?" prompted Teresa softly, "Did you win Marta's affections?"

Nemic nodded and smiled. "Yes, yes I did. She came with us when Katarina and I left two weeks later. We married, set up a household and...in time…. things weren't so good anymore between us. She was going to leave me, my Marta…"

"But she didn't" Cho said, already knowing the story.

"No, no she didn't. She was pregnant, so she stayed. For years actually. And I treated her badly. I don't know why, except that I was young and strong and cocky and the boss of a big organization. I was greedy in every way possible."

Cho and Lisbon waited for the rest to come out.

Jan looked out the window, deeply immersed in memories he had long ago buried. The memories caused nothing but pain.

"Marta stayed until Laila was old enough to make a run for it without being a burden, then when I left the country on business, they disappeared. To America as it turned out… to a better life without me and my money."

'Mr. Nemic, about your sister…" nudged Cho.

Jan cleared his throat, coming back to reality.

"My sister hated Marta. Hated her because I loved her. Strange isn't it? That Katarina hated someone just because I fell in love with her. I think Katarina wanted me all for herself. She was unnaturally attached to me. I think she considered me a kind of a possession she could keep forever. She is a woman of extreme emotions" he explained.

"But I ruined that when I married Marta. Katarina never got over it and soon after she became…. different. Unpredictable, hot one moment, cold the next. But, she was an important part of my business, so we continued as always. Then Marta and Laila left and Katarina seemed happy again. She had me all to herself" he said with evident bitterness.

"Did Katarina continue working with you right up until we arrested you Mr. Nemic?"

Nemic shook his head. "No, not for a long time. It wasn't working out between Kat and I. She got more difficult to control, ruined some big deals I had arranged with some dangerous people in the Middle East. If I was going to survive, she had to get out of the business. I had to tell her to leave, start her own business somewhere else in Europe. She went wild, like I have never seen before, but then she calmed herself, cleared out her possessions and was gone. Poof! Like that!" he said, snapping his fingers.

"Mr. Nemic, we have not been able to find any trace of her online, no evidence of criminal activity by her. She is a ghost. We had no idea she existed until this week. How did she manage to stay under the radar?"

Nemic snorted with derision at that question.

"She didn't stay under the radar, as you put it Agent Cho. She was in a locked mental facility. I had to put her there to save her life after she poked too many bears, pissed off too many people in her business dealings. She was out of control, still thinking that she and I were a team, working together. She was not dealing with reality by the time I found her. Her mind had snapped. So, I did what I had to do and put her some place safe back in Slovakia."

"She got out" Teresa stated. Nemic reacted to this news with a look of concern.

'What has happened Agent Cho?" asked Nemic, remembering his daughter.

"We have evidence to suggest Katarina took Laila against her will 3 days ago. We have some leads we are following and need to find out where she would take her. Does Katarina have a safe house some place in Maine? Some place she would go underground if necessary?"

Nemic looked at the agents with surprise that they knew this much.

"Yes, I bought an old farm in Maine years ago to get away when things in Europe got too hot to handle. Katarina would come with me and stay for weeks at at time. I felt she was safer there and she prefered it to some of the places we lived in back home. She started to go there without me at one point, which was fine with me. It seemed to help her get back to reality faster. Then, I had to institutionalize her and I only used the house in Maine once or twice since then."

"Mr. Nemic, there is a good chance that your sister has taken Laila to that house. Your daughter is in danger and we need to find her quickly. Tell us where to look, where the house is exactly. Only you can do that for your child" Teresa urged him.

Cho shoved a piece of paper over to Jan with a pen.

"Write it down for us. Tell us how we can save your daughter."

Nemic looked from Lisbon to Cho and picked up the pen. He hesitated, debating if he could trust what these people had told him.

"Do the right thing Mr. Nemic. Make Laila proud of you for once" goaded Teresa.

Jan stared at the paper and made his decision. He wrote down an address for a remote area of Maine and pushed the paper back to Cho.

"Find her Agent. And find Katarina. She is a danger to herself and to everyone who gets in her way."

"We will" agreed Cho.

"And when you do, lock her up and throw away the key!" said Nemic in revulsion.

Cho signalled for the guard and Nemic was escorted out of the room. Teresa and Cho made their way back to their SUV in a hurry to get a rescue team in place. Cho was on the phone to the field office of the FBI in Maine before they left the parking lot.

They drove back to Austin making their plans for staging a rescue attempt. Lisbon could not safely go with the team but would await the result of the raid in the office of the FBI closest to their destination. The final piece of the puzzle had finally landed in their laps. Teresa just hoped that they were not too late.

The silver van followed a few car lengths behind the black SUV, remaining just out of sight. Cho drove for only a few miles and then pulled over at a rest stop.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you to go before you left the house?" teased Lisbon.

"Yes she did, and yes I did thank you very much. Stay in the car, don't turn around, we are being followed."

Lisbon froze and looked straight ahead. "For how long Cho?"

"I noticed the tail back in Austin when we left the office. I wanted to be sure before I said anything. We were followed to the prison, and the van is a few car lengths back but still following us now. I'm going to go outside for a minute and see who is so interested in us. Stay low" he commanded unemotionally.

He hopped down out of the car and went around the side of the building and took up a covert position, his hand over his gun. Sure enough a moment later the van pulled in and parked a few spaces away in the parking lot. Lisbon didn't dare turn her head to look, but pretended to read a map in the front seat, dying of curiosity.

The grey man in the silver van observed Lisbon in the SUV casually reading something. He stepped out of his van and walked stealthily towards the building, heading for the side door. He reached the corner of the rest stop and disappeared from Lisbon's sight. She held her breath and waited. Time slowed down and she urgently wanted to reach for her Glock and rush out to help Cho if needed. Just as she was contemplating doing something equally foolish in her condition, she saw Cho emerge from around the side of the building holding a struggling man, hands cuffed behind his back and dusty from a fight on the ground. Cho forced him forward and slammed him up against the SUV. He put him in the back seat and cuffed his ankles as well, strapping him in the seat so tightly that the man would be happy just to breath long enough to make it back to Austin.

"Nice work!" grinned Teresa. "Who's our new friend?"

Cho snorted his disgust at having his beautiful black suit damaged by the dust and dirt of rural Texas. He wiped himself off as well as he could and started up the engine.

"He isn't saying much, but whatever he is saying, I can't understand it. Sounds like an Eastern European language."

"Slovakian?" asked Teresa, taking in the man's round beefy face, broad nose and sausage fingers.

Cho looked at her and realized what she was implying.

"Could be. Maybe Katarina is keeping tabs on us. We'll get an agent who is fluent in Eastern European languages to interrogate this one. He won't last long when we are done with him."

They drove the rest of the way back to Austin in silence, just in case their backseat guest understood English. No need for him to know anything of their plans to bring down his boss.

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Jane and Laila hit the woods running at a breakneck pace. Laila was very fit and flew through the trees like a 10 year old. Jane was remarkably fit for a man who seemed to sleep on the sofa all day, but he was hobbled by hunger, thirst and a crushing concussion. He should have been in a hospital bed having complete rest, not tearing through the forest as if the hounds of hell were nipping at his heels. Which in fact they might be… He struggled to keep up. Laila made sure to check on his progress and encouraged him to keep going. After running for what seemed like an hour, but was really only about 20 minutes, Laila slowed down and motioned for Patrick to stop. He was grateful for her consideration, assuming she could have kept going for much longer. In truth, he was feeling quite sick. The sandwich had tasted great after 3 days of starvation, but it now sat in his stomach like a brick, indigestible and heavy. His head felt as large as a melon and pounded with each heartbeat.

He leaned forward, putting his hands on his knees, panting and sweating. Laila reached over and took the juice bottle out of his pocket.

"Here, drink. You look terrible" she ordered him. Jane didn't balk at her description of him but thankfully took a long slug of the tart liquid.

"Here, have some yourself. You need to stay hydrated too" he panted.

She took a sip and then handed the bottle back to Jane. They stood in a small clearing and listened for any sounds of advancing feet. The only sound was the wind through the trees and birds calling overhead.

"5 minutes only, then we have to go again" Patrick told her, trying to sound more capable than he felt. Laila didn't know about the blow to the head he had suffered that morning and he didn't want her to worry.

"OK, sounds good. So Mr. Jane, what's the plan?" she asked, looking at him hopefully.

He straightened up and looked around, shaking his head.

"There isn't one. My only plan was to get out of the house with you. So far I'm batting 100!" he grinned.

"So we do what now, exactly?" she asked, sounding just like the teenager she still was.

"Now we keep going as far away from the house as we can get. We can't head for the highway and flag down a car because one of her goons might see us and pick us up. We have to stick to the woods and back roads as much as possible. With luck we will run into someone who can call for help."

She nodded and could not come up with anything better to suggest. When 5 minutes were up, he motioned for them to start running again, his fingers to his lips telling her to keep silent. They didn't know where they were going, they just hoped it led them farther and farther away from their sick and twisted jailer.

XXXXXXX

Katarina finished her lunch and lingered over a glass of port. Her two grey men had come into the house and were lounging in the living room, awaiting orders from their boss. The small woman from the kitchen came into the dining room and started to clear away the dishes, keeping her eyes on the table, avoiding looking up at Katarina. Katarina quite enjoyed watching her household helper scurrying around like a timid mouse, and studied her with a feline sense of superiority. When the woman finally left, Katarina stood up and wandered into the living room, taking a seat. She faced her two men, smiling at them and looking forward to telling them what she planned next for the unfortunately stubborn Mr. Jane. She had every intention of breaking him down and then remaking him to suit her purposes. He was far more intelligent than the two uneducated backwoods men who sat dumbly in front of her. She knew Mr. Jane would try to outsmart her, out think her, and out play her. She had time. Her ultimate goal was for Jane to give up and hand over his free will to her. If she had to beat his pride out of him or starve it out of him, she didn't care. The array of torments she had planned for him would ultimately destroy his will to resist, and then she would own him. But she had to be patient. He was a prize worthy of her efforts. And if her efforts paid off, she would achieve her goal. Jane would prove to be the perfect tool she needed to finally get back to the man she loved most in all the world.

Mr. Jane was the man who had helped to put Jan Nemic in prison, and so Mr. Jane was the man who was going to break Jan Nemic out of prison. That was her only goal, and Jane would suffer at her hands until she got what she wanted.

XXXXXXX

So the crazy Katarina took Jane to force him to engineer a prison break! Too bad her brother doesn't feel the same way about her as she does about him. What on earth was she going to do to Jane next? Thank goodness he is out and free!


	14. Little Grey Men Everywhere

**Go Patrick ! Run run run! Who knows when your absence will be discovered?**

 **Disclaimer: Bruno Heller owns the Mentalist, not me, not by a long shot!**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 14 Little Grey Men Everywhere

Katarina laid out her plans concerning Jane to the two men sitting in front of her. Much as she desired his complete cooperation and devotion to her this very minute, she knew Jane would hold out for a much longer time than the two men in front of her had. Jane was an interesting man, handsome, eloquent, smug in his own abilities, loyal to his friends and deeply in love with his wife. That would have to stop. His allegiance would have to be to Katarina alone. Perhaps an example of her ability to hurt his wife, in her advanced stage of pregnancy, would go a long way towards persuading Jane to give up and become her man. Yes, she thought, it was time for a demonstration of her long reach from Maine to Austin.

Katarina stood up and dismissed her men, watching them head back outdoors to wait for her next set of orders. Once they were gone, she dug her cell phone out of her pocket and placed a call to Austin Texas. It rang and rang and rang…. but no one picked up. Stabbing the redial button, she called her grey man again. The phone rang until her patience ran out and she angrily jabbed the end call button. What the hell was he doing? He was on-call 24/7! There was no reason he should ignore her calls. The oaf must be asleep or in the bathroom. Her anger flared but soon petered out. The roller coaster that Katarina's emotions rode on had started to race faster and faster in the last few months. Keeping her anger in check wore her out, but she had prevailed, she overcame her passions. Of that she was very proud.

Katarina knew she had time to make Mrs. Jane suffer. She would call her man again after paying a visit to Mr. Jane downstairs. She might even let him know what she planned to do to his lovely wife. That surely would be an incentive frightening enough to make him rethink his refusal to join the other grey men. Smiling at her own creativity, Katarina called her men back into the house and led the way towards the basement door and her prisoner, Patrick Jane.

XXXXXXXXXX

Cho called ahead and when he pulled up to the FBI office in Austin, two large agents were waiting in the prisoner bay at the side of the building. Cho got out and opened the door for them. Both men reached in and swiftly released the bonds on the grey man so that he could get out of the car and walk. His hands remained cuffed and he still tried to run. He got exactly 4 steps away before he was brought to his knees by the much better trained agents.

"Take him inside to an interrogation room and get him secured. We'll be in shortly. Thanks guys!" said Cho, glad to get the man away from Lisbon.

Teresa and Cho were free to talk now and discussed the odd turn of events after they left the prison.

"Think this is Katarina Nemic's man?" asked Teresa.

"We can't be sure, but Jan had no reason to have us followed. We aren't investigating him, but his sister is a wild card. She has Jane and Laila. I think if it is Katarina's man, the next likely target would be you Teresa" Cho told her, having thought this through all the way back from the prison.

"Me? You think this was all about me?" she stammered in disbelief. "Why? For what purpose?"

"Don't know yet, but our man inside is going to tell us" Cho stated, his face set in determination.

Ten minutes later Cho and Lisbon walked into the interrogation room where the sweaty man in a grey suit sat handcuffed securely to the table. An agent fluent in the languages in and around Slovakia was already sitting at the table, waiting to begin translating whatever Cho asked and the man answered.

Cho sat back in his chair and just stared at the man for a good minute or two, pleased to see how it unnerved his prisoner. When the man looked ready to throw up from the tension in the room, Cho leaned in and opened his well-worn notepad.

"Tell us why you were following us today" he asked sternly while the man blinked without understanding.

The translator spoke and the man shook his head and raised his shoulders in a motion indicating he was completely innocent, babbling away with a long winding answer.

"He says he was out for a drive and needed a break at the rest stop. He says you jumped him for no reason and that he just may sue you."

Cho smirked at that bald-faced lie, and continued.

"Ask him why his drive took him from the FBI building here to the Federal Prison. Ask him why he parked there and then happened to be following us when we left."

The translator conveyed the question to the man who was relaxing a bit, thinking maybe he could talk his way out of there.

The grey man babbled incoherently again and threw Cho and Lisbon a hateful look.

"He says he isn't from around here and always wanted to see if a big American prison looked just like they do in the movies."

Lisbon laughed outright at this fable and added her own comment to be translated.

"Tell him that he will find out soon enough what a prison looks like in America, but from the inside."

The translator grinned and repeated Lisbon's statement word for word. The man blanched slightly at the implication and became agitated at the possibility of going to jail. He started to shout at the translator and Cho, pounding the table with his fat hands, glaring at Cho, trying to intimidate the one man who simply could not be intimidated.

Waiting until the amateur theatrics died down, Cho proceeded while the man pretended to be disinterested in his predicament.

"Why were you following us? Were you acting on Katarina Nemic's orders?"

At the mention of Katarina Nemic's name, the man shot a fearful look at Cho and sat up straighter.

"We know Ms. Nemic has Patrick Jane and Laila Kovac in Maine, we know exactly where to find her. Cooperate with us and it will go better for you." Cho announced.

The translator conveyed this information to the man, but he was too stubborn or stupid to realize a carrot was being dangled in front of him and that he should take it

Another flurry of words erupted from him and he turned his back on all three interrogators in the room. Lisbon couldn't help but remember a film she saw in a history class showing Russian President Nikita Kruschev throwing a temper tantrum in the 1960's , wearing a similar crappy suit, while trying to intimidate Western leaders at a political summit. Odd how this little man's behaviour had shaken loose that memory from long ago!

Cho was in a hurry, he needed to head out with the team that was assembling at that moment and board a jet to get to Maine and find Jane. This idiot was wasting his time. Just as he was going to get up and jail the man until he got back, Wylie appeared and knocked on the glass door, holding a laptop in his hands.

"What is it Wylie, I'm in a hurry here and this guy isn't cooperating."

"Show him this Cho. I think it will get him talking" smiled Wylie.

Cho came back into the room and flipped open the laptop. Lisbon leaned over to see what Wylie had found and within a moment her expression changed from curiosity to horror. The FBI field agents had retrieved the grey man's car and had brought everything in it inside to be examined and categorized as evidence. This was his laptop, and contained enough evidence for Cho to nail this guy to the wall.

Cho turned the laptop around to face the man and hit a switch. A series of short videos opened on the screen, the first showing Lisbon leaving work and talking to Patrick on the way to the parking lot; another showed her going to the doctor's office for a checkup; a third showed her frowning in concern when she couldn't see Patrick outside the FBI office a few days ago. A particularly scary video showed someone walking with a camera across the lawn to their cabin and stepping up onto the front porch. A light was on inside the house and the camera was pointed towards the base of the window. The window shade was raised up about an inch from the bottom of the frame and Lisbon could clearly be seen walking from the kitchen to the living room, holding her belly and nursing a cup of tea. She sat down on the sofa and looked worried, wondering where her husband was. The next video showed Lisbon and Cho arriving at the Federal Prison and going inside.

Cho snapped the laptop shut and glared at the man who had suddenly lost all of his bravado.

"Start talking…" Cho commanded.

The translator started to speak, but the grey man cut him off. Apparently he spoke English very well after all.

"I am just following orders for her! She told me to follow this lady and her husband around until I was told to stop!"

"You learned English quickly" snarked Cho.

"What did you do with these videos once you shot them?"

"I emailed them to Ms. Nemic. She wanted to see what the Janes' did, what their routines were, and where they went. That's all I did, I swear it!"

"How long have you worked for Ms. Nemic?" Cho asked.

"Not long, no one works for her for long. She's crazy you know…" he said as if saying it out loud would get him killed on the spot. "I used to work doing odd jobs for her brother Jan Nemic back home in Slovakia and in Beirut as well. When he went to jail, I was out of work. I have family here in the States so I came here. Ms. Nemic found me and told me to come and work for her instead."

"And you did. Was it good to be back working for the family again?" asked Lisbon contemptuously.

'No! Not good! I didn't want to be anywhere near that crazy bitch! But she knew where my sister and her kids live, so I couldn't say no. You never say no to Katarina Nemic."

He truly looked afraid now. Just admitting anything about his boss had now endangered not only his family's lives, but his own.

"You'll protect me won't you?" he asked nervously, looking from Cho to Lisbon and back to Cho.

"Cooperate with us and we'll do everything we can to keep your sister and her family safe. You too."

The man slumped back in his chair, visibly relieved to hear that his days working for a lunatic were over. Cho signalled for the man to be taken downstairs to the holding cells. The laptop would be scrutinized for more evidence and then kept for the trial. Cho raced back to his office to get ready to fly out to Maine and find Jane.

"I'm coming with you Cho!" demanded Lisbon, grabbing her purse.

"You're staying here. There is no way you are coming in the field with me in your condition Lisbon" he said as he grabbed his gun and badge in haste.

"But Cho…!"

"No, save it. I will arrange for you to escorted to a safe house where you will stay until this is over."

Lisbon opened her mouth to protest but Cho shut her down.

"We just found one man working for Katarina who has been as close as your front porch Teresa, and you had no idea. What if there is another one, and another one? We don't know how many men Nemic has looking for you. If she truly wants to get to Jane, all she has to do is take you and she wins. I can't allow that. Grab what you need and be ready to leave in 5 minutes."

"My things?" Teresa mumbled sadly.

"Whatever you need that isn't in the safe house will be provided by one of our female agents. Take your laptop with you. I'll keep you in the loop, but you are going to disappear as of right now!"

Cho looked sternly at her as the boss he now was. He would not allow any more discussion, he had to go. He felt bad doing this to Lisbon, but it was imperative that she and her baby survive Katarina Nemic. Hopefully Jane would as well.

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 **Well another obstacle is out of the way. Lisbon will go nuts confined to a safe house. Cho better find her husband fast!**

 **Once again thank you for all the favourites and reviews. Guest reviews are appreciated too! Please share your thoughts with me. Is this the way you thought the story was going or did you expect something else? Next chapter when I can manage it.**


	15. Running on Empty

**Patrick's ingenuity is a wonderful thing and it has served him well today. Now if he can just get some distance between himself and the bad guys that would go a long way towards protecting Laila and finding help!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own The Mentalist or make any money from it.**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 15 Running on Empty

Patrick had not run like this since he was a teenager. Back then he was running to get away from townie kids who didn't like him flirting with their girlfriends, or he was running and hiding to get away from his father's drunken rages. Both kinds of running would eventually lead to an eventual return to his daily grind until something else sprang up to make Patrick take off.

Running blindly through the woods beyond the farm at his age now and in his condition was presenting a whole new level of challenges for him physically. On a good day he could make quite a good showing of himself, his trips to the gym paying off in a slim physique and nimble reflexes. Today however, his body was letting him down. As much as Patrick wanted to keep up with Laila, she had not been beaten, concussed, starved and frozen. All of those hardships were now rendering him an old tired man, and he feared he would slow Laila down. As if he didn't have enough to worry about physically, the weather had turned and the sky now was darkening, with low heavy clouds scudding across the horizon as the wind picked up. It was the end of the summer, and the weather was behaving more like the fall, gradually withdrawing the fair days of constant sunshine. If they did not find someone to help them soon, they would have to find shelter outdoors before the skies opened up and unleashed cold rain to make their journey even more difficult. Patrick looked at his wrist to discover he was no longer wearing his watch. At some point Katarina's men must have removed it from his wrist, leaving him unaware of the passage of real time. How he wished he had it now, as it gave him directions as well as the time. If only he had one of those slick new watches that displayed and sent emails! His problems would be over! His mind chewed on these ridiculous thoughts as he tried to keep within sight of Laila. He was slowing her down and she knew it. He would have to address that issue soon.

By the time Laila stopped to rest with Patrick, they had been running for 90 minutes. Patrick hoped they had a long lead ahead of their inevitable pursuers, but they had no idea when their escape had been detected. The sky was dark and was going to erupt into a squall at any moment. Both of them hunkered down in a section of dense grass. They had been keeping to the security of the trees, hoping not to be seen from a road or open field, but the consequence of their decision was that they had no idea if they were running towards safety or circling back to where they came from, straight into Katarina's waiting arms. They had no overall concept of the landscape but it all looked the same after a while anyway. Patrick was hurting badly now, his legs weak with hunger, and his head crushing him with pain from the beating he had suffered that morning. He didn't want to worry Laila, but he couldn't go on much longer. He had to save her first, she was an innocent in all this no matter what her Aunt had made her do.

He pulled out the bottle of juice and shared what little was left with Laila. She flopped down and lay silently next to him. Looking up at the threatening sky, she broke the silence between them with a wry observation.

"That's going to be a problem…"

Patrick followed her eyes upward and nodded his head.

"Yup. We're going to get wet. Because we weren't having a bad enough day already…" he added with sarcasm.

Laila turned to look at him and smiled. There was nothing they could do about it, so why bother to complain. At least they were free. Patrick gazed at his young companion and knew he had to seize the moment and tell her what was on his mind.

"Laila" said Patrick.

"Yes?"

"I want you to go on ahead without me."

Laila sat upright and started to protest his suggestion. 'No! No Mr. Jane. We should stick together!"

He rolled over and looked at her kindly. She was a good kid. He wanted her to get away as fast as possible but he was a ball and chain around her ankle. He had to persuade her to leave him behind.

"Laila, I can't run anymore but you can. If you get far enough ahead of me and find help, then you can bring them back here and meet up with me wherever I am along the trail by then. But together, we might miss being found if it gets too late in the day. Who's going to go out if it storms later?" he said with reason.

She wanted to protest, but what he said actually made sense. She was running more slowly so he could keep up, and the sky was going to erupt at some point soon.

Patrick stood up and so did Laila.

"I'm going to keep going forward at my own pace, but you should go as fast as you can. We'll meet up when the cavalry comes to the rescue!" he said with a smile of reassurance that

he did not feel.

Laila hesitated and looked around, trying to decide if she should follow his orders or just stay and try to help him along. He had to help her make the right choice.

"Laila, I want you to go. You can make it! The longer we are out here the bigger the chance we will get both get soaked." He pointedly did not mention the larger elephant in the room - the possibility that they would be found by Katarina's men the longer they remained exposed and vulnerable, and together.

The young woman was torn, but finally had to agree that Jane was right. She stepped up to him and gave him a warm hug. She looked up into his face and gave him a small smile.

"I'll find someone real soon Mr. Jane. Don't you worry. We will be sleeping in nice warm beds tonight! I promise!"

"Deal!" he grinned, then pushed her gently away from him towards the horizon. With a last look back at Jane she took off at a run, a graceful gazelle. 'Oh to be 19 again' thought Jane as he lost sight of her. Sighing deeply, he too started to walk out into the unknown.

XXXXXXXXX

Katarina unlocked the basement door and stepped down the old wooden staircase smiling to herself. Patrick had fought hard against her man this morning and had been properly disciplined by him for his lack of respect. She wondered if he was still laying sprawled out on the dirt floor, insensate, or had he roused himself, cowering now in a damp corner of his cell awaiting her pleasure? Her sense of power over this handsome but disrespectful man thrilled her. She had planned all of this for so long, so long… and it was turning out just as she had hoped. Katarina actually didn't want Jane to be broken by her too quickly. She enjoyed watching him put up a show of strength and resistance, no matter how futile that ultimately would prove to be.

Heavy boots descended the stairs behind her as she walked through the first basement room and stepped down into the larger room beyond. She flicked on the switch to light the chandelier over the table and started to walk across the floor towards the cell on the far side of the room. The smile on her face froze as she raised her eyes and saw the cell door standing ajar. She ran the last short distance to the cell in disbelief and burst inside, to find it empty. Screaming in rage she rounded on her two grey men and demanded an explanation. Both men entered the empty room and were speechless. When they had left Jane a few hours earlier, he was beaten unconscious, unable to do anything for himself. As Katarina ranted and demanded an answer she was already on her way upstairs to the one person who might have set Jane free. The two men, though frightened of her when she lost control like this, followed at her heels and ran up the stairs behind her, ready to rectify this disastrous turn of events.

Katarina flew up the basement stairs and through the hallway to the front foyer. Grasping the stately bannister she took the stairs two at a time until she was at Laila's bedroom door. Not waiting to be let in she twisted the door handle and thundered inside the quiet room. Laila was not on her bed resting so Katarina checked out the small attached bathroom. Also empty. Howling in frustration and blind rage, Katarina advanced on her two bodyguards and raised her finger to their sweating faces.

"Find Laila, find Mr. Jane. Find them or face the consequences. Do I make myself clear?" she growled menacingly.

Both men had seen her like this before and had always been thankful they had not been the source of her anger. They would do anything that it took to find the escapees and bring them back to the farm. They raced out of the bedroom and pounded down the stairs.

The front door opened and one man ran to the van they had just arrived in, ready to search the roads and sideroads for Jane and Laila. They were on foot, so would most likely be easy to find. The other man ran into the barn and emerged minutes later driving an ATV. He disappeared behind the barn and was soon dodging trees and shrubs as he drove through the woods behind the farm. The sky was getting darker by the moment and soon they would get drenched with rain. Neither man relished being out in these conditions. They would be uncomfortable, but their quarry would also be slowed down by those same conditions, and for that, they were eternally grateful.

XXXXXX

Cho and some of his agents boarded an FBI jet and were soon airborne for the flight to Maine. With a good tailwind they hoped to be at their destination in 4 hours. That was time they could ill afford to lose, but there was nothing they could do about it. The team from the field office was being brought up to speed on the case and the main players in the kidnapping of Jane. Laila would be treated as a suspect until she could be cleared. Once the team was fully briefed, the would assemble a SWAT team and wait until they heard from Cho again.

xxxxxXX

Teresa had been quickly ushered out of the FBI building through the basement to a waiting unmarked windowless old van, which easily blended in with traffic. She sat in the back unseen from the outside, wringing her hands in concern at this sudden downturn in events. Instead of being the hunter, she was now the hunted, she and her baby. The idea that she and Patrick had been followed and filmed for weeks made her feel exposed and vulnerable, like a bug under a magnifying glass. Now she was going God knows where to sit and wait until news finally came in about her husband and Laila. Cho had let her take her work laptop, but she knew damned well he wouldn't convey any information that would upset her. Good news would arrive when he had a chance to contact her; bad news would not come over the internet at all until Cho got back to Austin. Both scenarios frightened her to death. The driver and the female agent accompanying her both sat quietly up front, watching for threats to Lisbon's safety. There was no point asking where they were taking her, they wouldn't tell her anything at all for her own good. Sighing deeply, Teresa held her large belly in her hands and rubbed her baby bump mindlessly, thinking about her husband and their future together, the upcoming birth of their baby and the joy they were soon to experience. She forced herself to think these wonderful thoughts all the way to the safehouse. To do otherwise was a road she didn't dare let herself go down.

XXXXXXXX

Laila ran through the woods looking for someone anywhere who would stop and help her. No one was out walking this close to a storm threatening to blow through. She could hear the highway buzzing with late afternoon traffic far away to her left, so she kept up her current pathway through the trees. Eventually the woods began to thin out and in a clearing she saw an old shack tucked between old dead trees and young saplings nearby. She jogged up to the windowless building and shook the door with both hands, trying to gain access. The door was thick wood and was secured with a large padlock. The shack was quite small, more like a large closet than a place someone would live. Walking all around it and seeing no way in, she considered that it was just a shack for storing tools and cast-offs. The sky brightened with a large bolt of lightning, followed by a crack of thunder overhead and a moment later, large raindrops thudded down on her head and the forest around her. There was no way to get inside for shelter, but Laila noticed a pile of chopped tree branches piled up not far from the side of the shack. A large weatherized tarp covered the pile to keep the wood dry. She ran over and grasped the tarp and tugged at it with all her might, loosening it from its' ties at the base of the woodpile. She ran back to the shack with the tarp and threw it around her head and shoulders as the rain began to pelt down in earnest. She was dry and relatively warm and could afford to wait out this first push of the storm front. She wondered where Jane was right then, and if he had been as lucky as her to find shelter from the storm.

XXXXX

Jane had forced himself to walk after Laila left, one foot in front of the other, resolute in his determination to find help for himself and her. As he made his way through the trees he realized with chagrin that he was not so much walking as trudging, slogging through the woods, so slowly that a 3 year old could easily outpace him. From time to time he paused and looked around, trying to see if the landscape was changing at all or if he could hear anyone approaching. Only the sound of his heavy breathing accompanied the rustling of the leaves in the trees as the wind began to pick up in front of the approaching storm. But no grey men were in sight, so maybe they were still oblivious to Jane's escape earlier in the afternoon. Jane came to a slight divide in the woods, a natural fork that could lead either left or right. Which way would Laila take he worried. Did the path to the left lead to a roadway and help, or a roadway and a waiting grey man? Did the path to the right lead to a farmhouse and friendly people who would call the FBI for Jane, or did it lead back to Katarina? Without a compass and without the sun to consult for directions, he was flummoxed. His lack of food also affected his good judgement and he weakly made a decision that would either be his salvation, or his damnation. He turned right.

Over time, the woods gradually became less dense and Patrick had to stay low to avoid detection. The land became a bit more hilly here and he had to work harder to walk. His exhaustion was almost complete and he desperately wanted to lie down in the grass and sleep. Any real consideration of that quickly ended as a loud flash of lightning overhead announced the arrival of the thunderstorm. Jane tried to jog a bit faster in search of cover but had only gone another 15 feet when the sky opened up and sent torrents of rain down upon him. He kept going since he was wet now, and couldn't get any wetter, so why stop? The terrain became more treacherous as the flat land was gradually replaced with gentle slopes covered in long grass, slippery with rain. His worn brown shoes had no real traction on their bottoms and the wet grass moved like a writhing snake beneath his feet. He kept moving forward with the storm coming at him from the front, a cold rain pushed by a colder wind. He rounded a corner too quickly only to find himself on the cusp of a small hill. His feet slid on the slick grass and came out from underneath him so fast that he had no time to right himself. He fell onto his back and tumbled down the wet incline, hitting old tree stumps and bramble along the way. He threw out his hands trying to catch onto something to stop his progress when he felt his right knee ram into a stump that was firmly rooted to the hillside. The stump did not move but his knee was wrenched awkwardly to the side, instantly causing Jane to curse in pain. A few moments later his fall was broken by a patch of flat land. Jane lay there panting in the tall grass, grasping his now badly twisted knee. He could not move at first, such was the shock of the fall. It took many minutes to catch his breath, but eventually he had to try to stand up and see where he had landed. Every movement caused his knee to scream in defiance, but Jane slowly managed to get his good leg under him and pushed himself up to stand on his left leg. He was covered in mud from his slide down the hill, wet to the bone and unable to put weight on his right leg. If things had been bad a few minutes ago, they had turned deadly now. His eyes swept the horizon to see if there was a target destination he could slowly work towards. That was his intention. The reality of what he saw changed that plan in an instant.

Sitting on his ATV with huge grin on his face was Thing 2. His hunch that Laila and Jane had hit the woods for cover had proved correct, and he knew that eventually one or both of them would make the mistake of coming this way. All he had to do was wait. The soaking he got while waiting was well worth it when he had seen Jane at the crest of the hill. The fall that followed was just icing on the cake.

Jane froze in horror at being so close to his adversary, especially now that he really could not run away again. The grey man slowly got off his ATV and approached Jane with a smile and a pair of zip ties in his hands. Jane could not move, his legs being useless in this terrain. The grey man reached out and grabbed Jane's wet hands in his and quickly cuffed them tightly together, then grabbed Jane and manhandled him over to the ATV. The pain in Jane's knee was excruciating, made far worse with the bumps and rough handling meted out by Thing 2. He was thrown onto the small seat and joined by his captor, who put a seat belt around both of them, while he whistled tunelessly in happiness at his good fortune. Turning the key, Thing 2 started the machine with a lurch and soon was racing across the wet farmland, towards his waiting boss and a large glass of beer. This was going to be a good night for him. Jane's night would take a decidedly different turn, one Thing 2 was glad he would not have to experience himself.

XXXXXXX

 **Oh crap! Jane is back at square one with all of those looney tunes! And how is Laila, out there somewhere on her own? Will Thing 1 find her and bring her back to Katarina like a trophy too?**

 **Oy, this is stressful! Please review kind readers!**


	16. Bullets and Gravy

**So much is going on! So tense! But hang in there, much more is coming your way!**

 **Oh by the way, I made a mistake when I first hit the button to publish the last chapter. I had a couple of sentences in the middle of the story surrounded by XXX's that I was going to delete later, but I somehow missed that and published the chapter with those nonsensical lines still in the document. I have since edited them out, but anyone who has favourited this story will have received the chapter with the mistake prominently on display. Sorry for my goof up. It has been corrected.**

 **Disclaimer: The Mentalist is not mine but belongs to Bruno Heller. Thanks Bruno!**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 16 Bullets and Gravy

The ATV sloshed through the tall wet grass carrying its' two cold and wet passengers. Patrick was sitting in the passenger seat beside grey man #2. The ATV had a roll bar across the top of the vehicle and a small carrier box on the back for transporting trash, small loads or yard waste, typically a vehicle useful in a farming environment. Patrick had slumped over in his seat in exhaustion, the bouncing of the small vehicle sending shockwaves of pain up his right thigh into his hip and down his shin. His eyes were closed in concentration, his brain furiously working to find a way out of his recapture. He considered throwing himself out of the moving ATV but then what? He couldn't just jump up and run away. He might also get hurt even worse, so, that plan was quickly tossed. Thing 2 had made the mistake of zip tying Jane's' hands in front of him, so that was one small detail that had to be used to his advantage. Should he grab the steering wheel out of the driver's hands and take over the ATV? Jane considered this for a good few minutes while pretending to be semi-conscious. No, too risky and his nemesis was far stronger than he was. Jane could not overtake the wheel, not in his condition. Each minute that passed was bringing him closer to Katarina Nemic, who was no doubt in a boiling rage at his successful escape. No, he had to do something to prevent his delivery back into her very unstable hands by the hulk sitting next to him. Jane opened his eyes to a tiny slit and stole a sideways glance at his beefy guard, inches away from him. He had to be disabled, rendered incapacitated, if Jane was to commandeer this vehicle and drive to safety. 'Don't overthink it…. just do it….. just do it…' Patrick repeated to himself like a mantra, more to give himself confidence than to believe any plan was perfect. Time ticked relentlessly by, but he waited until Thing 2 looked away to his left to check the terrain, and realized this was his chance, this was the moment, now or never!

Patrick sat bolt upright and lunged to his left, throwing his arms over Thing 2's head and around his fat neck. Patrick brought his arms in close to his body and squeezed as hard as he could to choke his adversary into submission. The grey man squealed in shock and instinctively threw up a hand to fight off the attack. He had to let go of the wheel with one hand to try to force Jane's' bound wrists away from his throat. It was next to impossible to maintain control of the ATV while he jerked and fought against the zip-tied wrists that crushed his windpipe and cut off his air supply. Patrick was almost standing on his one good leg to get as much leverage on his victim as he could, tightening his hold and using his whole body to crush the man's neck. He leaned against the roll bar to keep his balance as the ATV drove wildly ahead. The grey man was much stronger than Jane and fought long and hard to escape from Jane's crushing embrace. In a battle that seemed like hours but in reality was just minutes, the suffocating man gasped for air as his windpipe was slowly shut down by the pressure of his attacker's wrists. Thing 2 now let go of the wheel completely and used both hands to try to peel Jane's arms away from his neck and over his head, but he was losing the battle due to a lack of oxygen, his face growing a dangerous shade of red. The ATV was now bounding across the land driverless, skidding and lurching uncontrollably on the muddy ground. Thing 2's foot pressed the gas pedal all the way to the floor and the machine scudded in the wet terrain at speeds that would soon endanger both their lives. The two men fought in the cramped space behind the steering wheel until Patrick noticed his opponent's arms slackening their defense. Thing 2's eyes started to roll upwards into his head and he gradually stopped fighting back. Patrick kept ahold of him to make sure he was not playing dead, afraid of a counter attack if he backed off too quickly. The ATV was still skittering its' way across the field and tipped wildly from side to side as its' wheels slipped on the wet ground. All sense of up and down was suddenly torn away from Patrick as the front wheel of the machine hit a stump and the ATV flipped into the air, crashing back down going end over end, tearing up the soft farmland and cutting a deep scar into the earth in it's wake. Both men were thrown out of the vehicle as it continued for a short distance and then came to a rest on its' side, wheels spinnng in the air.

Patrick and Thing 2 were thrown out of the ATV and since they were still attached by Jane's' arms around Thing 2's neck, they landed one on top of the other. Both men lay motionless on the grass, rain thundering down on them. Patrick had been stunned when he slammed into the earth and remained still until he gradually regained his senses. He felt like an elephant was sitting on his chest, so he looked around and saw the grey man sprawled half across his body. The grey man weighed at least 200 pounds and was a dead weight in his unconscious state. Patrick's fall had been broken by the soft earth and long grass, so he was now just encumbered by the large body on top of his. He raised his arms over the man's head and put his hands under the grey man's body and pushed with all of his might. As he pushed he also tried to pull his lower body out from underneath Thing 2. In his weakened state this took all of Jane's limited resources but adrenaline gave him a small boost and he gradually inched the body off his and was finally free of his bulk. Patrick lay back panting and swallowing the steady rain that pummelled him, glad of the chance to finally drink something again, even if it was just rain. He turned his head and saw his opponent laying insensate in the grass. Patrick struggled to pull himself up onto his one good knee and saw the ATV laying on it's side like a stranded turtle. He started to crawl through the grass towards the revving machine, two hands forward, pull a knee up, two hands forward, pull a knee up… he made his way slowly closer and closer to his waiting escape vehicle. His twisted knee dragged across the ground and screamed in protest at being banged and bumped along the way, but he doggedly persisted in pulling, pushing himself ever nearer to the ATV and freedom. Two hands forward, pull a knee up, like a baby learning to crawl.

Patrick could smell the exhaust from the ATV as it hit his face, so close to the machine he would soon be able to reach out and touch the cold wet metal frame. He would worry about righting the machine back onto its' wheels when he got to it, just a few more pushes and pulls and he would be there….

Two massive hands grabbed Patrick around the ankles and wrenched him painfully backwards through the grass, the ATV suddenly farther away again. Thing 2 had regained consciousness and had staggered to his feet to find Jane within inches of reaching the ATV. He quickly closed the distance between himself and Jane and hauled him away from the prize that a moment ago had seemed so easily within his grasp.

Patrick twisted his body around and found himself staring into the grinning wet face of his nemesis once again. Thing 2 stopped pulling him backwards, flipped him over onto his back and stood over him. Grasping Jane by the shoulder, he drew back a fist and punched Jane hard in the jaw, a sucker punch guaranteed to incapacitate a man without much of a struggle. Jane had no time to raise his cuffed hands up to his face to protect himself and was knocked out instantly. Thing 2 grabbed Jane's unresisting hands and cut the zip ties off his bloody wrists and flipped him over onto his stomach. He pulled his arms behind his back and zip tied them again, having learned his lesson never to leave Jane's hands anywhere but behind his back.

The large grey man lifted Jane up and half dragged, half carried him over to the whining machine. He dropped his load on the ground and stepped over to the ATV, switching off the engine. He pulled down on the high side of it to put it back on its' wheels. He trudged back to Patrick and lifted his limp body up over his shoulder and unceremoniously dumped him into the small box on the back of the machine. Sitting down in the driver's seat, he once again turned the key and started to drive back to the farm, eternally grateful that he didn't have to admit to Katarina that his prisoner had almost escaped from him twice in the same day.

XXXXXX

Cho and his team from Austin had landed and was met by his counterpart from the local FBI branch office. A SWAT team had been hastily assembled as Cho was coming in for a landing, so that they could begin their search for Laila and Jane as soon as boots hit the ground.

Cho was driven to the staging area and addressed the assembled agents. They were going to drive in unmarked vehicles followed by a large SWAT bus to the farm address given to them by Jan Nemic. Nemic had assured Cho that this was the only place Katarina would feel safe and relaxed. If she was hiding in plain sight in Maine, they would soon be bursting through her front door. Cho was anxious to get going, too much was riding on this bust to be delayed for another minute. Ten minutes later the teams were fully briefed and on their way down the highway. In a little over an hour they had almost reached their destination. The black cars pulled up and stopped just outside the view anyone in the large farm house. The men donned bulletproof vests and full riot gear, not sure how many men they would have to fight to get to Katarina and rescue the hostages. Cho directed the agents to fan out around the property, and approach the farmhouse from behind the barn, guns drawn. The other agents circled around and came at the house from the other side. As one group burst through the front door the other group would ram their way through the back door to cut off any attempts of escape by fleeing suspects.

Once all the agents were in place, at a signal given by Cho, there was a rush of black uniformed men as everyone converged on the farmhouse at once. A battering ram smashed in the heavy front door of the house as a similar tactic was carried out at the back kitchen door. Agents streamed into the house screaming for everyone to get down and raise their hands. Feet thundered up the stairs to the second floor as agents searched the bedrooms for good guys or bad guys. The agents rushed through the kitchen finding no one, and proceeded, yelling and shouting for anyone and everyone to get down, hands up. The agents poured past the empty living room and arrived at the dining room to find it full of people eating their supper. Cho and his men screamed at an older woman to put her arms up into the air and the man and other woman at the table did the same thing as guns were pointed at their astonished faces. There was panic everywhere as the rapid assault took the family by surprise. The small children at the table didn't know whether to laugh at the strangeness of this unexpected event or to cry in fear at a videogame come to life right before their eyes.

Cho kept his gun solidly aimed at the older woman and scanned the room with a sickening feeling. Children were not supposed to be part of this. The younger woman and her husband both came to their senses and started to babble incoherently at their invaders, demanding an explanation. Cho kept his gun on his suspects but approached and demanded to know their names. Mr. and Mrs. David Carson answered immediately, and then turned to introduce their two children, who were staring at Cho like he was a super hero, and the grandmother of the children, who still had her hands raised above her head in terror. The agents who had raided the basement area, the upstairs bedrooms and attic and the outbuildings all returned to the house and informed Cho that there was nothing, no hostages, no signs of a struggle, just farming equipment and children's toys scattered around outside. They had raided the wrong farm.

Cho ordered his men to stand down and leave the house. The family was glued to their chairs in fear and confusion and it was now up to Cho to do some hasty damage control.

"Mr. and Mrs. Carson, I am Senior Agent Kimball Cho of the Austin office of the FBI. We were given a tip by an informer that a kidnapper had hostages detained at this farm. Our intel seemed solid and we had to conduct a raid to catch our suspects by surprise."

"Well you sure as hell didn't find anything did you Agent Cho!" yelled Mr. Carson. "How the hell did you screw this up so badly? Who the hell did you get your information from? Huh? Do we look like a bunch of kidnappers to you? You have scared my mother half to death! How am I going to explain all this to my kids tonight when they can't sleep for fear of men busting down their door in the middle of the night!" he raved, warming up to his anger.

"Honey, please, not in front of the kids!" asked his wife, terrified of the black clad Agent in front of her and worried about her mother-in-law and kids as well.

Cho felt beads of sweat forming on his forehead as this whole affair went from bad to worse. This was a PR nightmare and he was fully responsible for it. He lowered his gun and tried his best to console the distraught adults around the table, while the children picked at their french fries and giggled at the funny man in the black SWAT uniform.

"Mr. and Mrs. Carson, we were told that a Katarina Nemic owned this property and had brought a young woman here against her will, as well as one of our own people, a consultant who works for the FBI. We were assured that this was the house used by Ms. Nemic. I am very very sorry for frightening you and your children, and you ma'am" he said, looking kindly at the grandmother.

"Any damages to your home will be taken care of by the agency, and any counselling needed by any family member to deal with this event will be provided as well. Please accept my deepest apologies on behalf of the FBI".

Mr. Carson seethed in anger at what his family had been put through but his wife could see genuine remorse in Agent Cho's face. She cleared her throat and spoke, trying to defuse some of the tension in the room.

"Agent Cho is it?"

"Yes ma'am…"

"Agent Cho, we have lived here for just a short time. We moved out here from Michigan just about a year and a half ago. We bought the farm from a woman who said she wanted something a little smaller and easier to manage, something more out in the country." She turned to her husband and looked questioningly into his furious face.

"What was that woman's name honey? Do you remember?" she asked, trying to help this obviously upset agent.

Her husband glared at her like she had lost her mind, not willing to help this idiot agent still holding a gun in the sanctity of his home.

"How the hell should I remember her name? Who cares what her name is?" he retorted.

Cho turned to speak to the man, ignoring his anger to gain valuable information.

"Mr. Carson, we were given the address of this farm by the man who originally bought it years ago. He came here often and sometimes brought his sister. He wants his sister apprehended as much as we do. He considers her dangerous. She needs to be institutionalized. He has no reason to lie. He is already doing time in a Federal prison, so he has nothing to gain by giving us a false address."

The older woman had recovered from her initial shock at being held at gunpoint and had watched the exchange taking place between the other adults in the room. She was annoyed at her son's unwillingness to help the Agent, who obviously was searching desperately for the kidnap victims. She had held her tongue but it was time to interrupt her son's vitriolic attack on both his wife and Agent Cho.

"So you are willing to believe what some prisoner in jail tells you, and bash down our doors, terrifying our children and my mother just because you are stupid enough to trust a con? How did you become an Agent Mr. Cho? Did you save up some box tops, enter a contest and win a uniform and a gun?" Mr. Carson shouted.

The older woman stood up and turned her weathered face to her son, raising her finger and pointing it at him.

"That's enough David! Enough! This Agent has made a terrible mistake. He admits it and he will have to pay for it I am sure somewhere down the line. But he is looking for his agent and a missing girl. He says that a man used to own this house and farm years ago and that he would know exactly what this address is. Don't you want to know for sure that you didn't buy this house from a criminal? Don't you want to put the kidnapper in jail David? What if the kidnapper is one of our neighbours down the highway? Did you ever stop to consider that?" she huffed in indignation. "Stop yelling and start thinking. Innocent people's lives are at risk!"

Cho stared at this small woman in wonder and respect. She reminded him of his own strong and forthright grandmother.

David Carson looked well and truly chastised by his strong mother and kept his mouth closed, but had lost most of his momentum and fury in the process. His wife broke the hostility in the room with a question.

"Agent Cho, what did you say the woman's first name is? The woman you mentioned earlier?" asked Mrs. Carson.

"Katarina."

Mrs. Carson knitted her brow in concentration, trying to remember this name from 18 months ago. Her husband sat quietly and gazed at his two kids, who seemed largely unaffected by the experience they had just lived through. 'So resilient…' he thought to himself. He decided to put his mind to the question at hand, going back through his memory seriously now, to find a name he knew was sitting somewhere in his mind, waiting to be discovered again.

After some minutes, he broke the tense silence in the dining room and faced Cho, a possible bit of information on his tongue.

"You've got the wrong name Agent Cho. We never dealt with a woman named Katarina."

Cho looked crestfallen at this news. Why had Jan Nemic lied if he truly wanted his sister found and locked up again?

"She had a softer name, a more American name" Mr. Carson proceeded. "More like a traditional name, like Joan, or Judy."

"Yes, you're right!" beamed his wife. "I remember now! The name you mentioned didn't ring any bells because the woman who sold us this house was not named Katarina. Her name was… ahhh… oh what was it…." she struggled.

"Her name was Janet" said the grandmother calmly. "I met her outside the house when you both were signing some papers with the real estate agent in here. I asked her what her name was because she had an accent that I didn't recognize. She told me her name was Janet, but that she went by Jan. Don't remember her last name."

Cho, David and David's wife all stared at the old woman in amazement, while she sat back in her chair and took a sip of her now lukewarm tea.

"That's what I remember. She was tall, rather good looking in a strong way, seemed well educated and very self-assured. She said she had bought this house from the previous owner but it was just not what she wanted after all."

Cho's mind spun at the turn of events. Katarina had used the name Janet, or Jan, to sell the house because her brother's name _Jan Nemic_ was on the ownership paperwork. She had had to rework her name in order to sell the house. Very clever. But the question remained - where had she moved to 18 months ago? The challenge of finding her now was much more difficult for the FBI. Was she even still in Maine? Did she go back to Slovakia with her victims? Cho had no idea where to look now.

He turned back to Mrs. Carson and asked her a question that might just solve the mystery of Katarina's new location.

"Mrs. Carson, you said when you spoke to this Janet woman, she said she wanted something smaller, and farther out in the countryside. Do you think she meant she was going to stay in the area, around here somewhere?" he said hopefully.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Carson nodded their heads affirmatively at the logical question.

"Yes, I got the impression that she loved Maine and would just buy something else around here that was less work to maintain. She wasn't actually going to be farming the land anyway, so she just needed a good sized property and a nice house." said David.

"Go speak to our real estate agent, Madeline Burrows, she might be able to find out who sold this Katarina woman her next house" said Mrs. Carson helpfully.

Cho was grateful beyond words at this turn of events. He walked forwards and took Mr. Carson's reluctant hand, shaking it firmly, and then turned to his wife and his mother, doing the same as he spoke.

"I want once again to apologize sincerely for frightening your family today. But I want you to know that you have been a tremendous help. With the information you have just given me, we might be able to capture Ms. Nemic very soon, and if the hostages are still alive, you will have been responsible for their rescue. Thank you all very much. We'll stay in touch."

And with that, Cho made his exit and rejoined his waiting team outside the house. Inside, the Carsons spent the rest of the evening going over the events that had just played out, and as a result, gradually became filled with amazement at the prospect that they had just played a pivotal role in finding a dangerous woman and saving two lives at risk.

XXXXXXX

 **Sorry, no time to deal with Teresa or Laila in this chapter. But whoeee! Poor Jane. He came so close to making it to freedom. What will Katarina do with him when gets back in her clutches? Stay tuned, more to follow when I get a chance!**

 **Reviews gratefully read, I promise!**


	17. A Babe In The Woods

**Ok, things are perking along. Laila is still far from safety but she will try her best to find some help and bring it to Jane, wherever he might now be. Cho has to redeem his men and find the right farm as soon as possible, because if Katarina even gets a hint of a suspicion the FBI is onto her, she will disappear with Jane forever!**

 **Thank you for the very enthusiastic reviews, they warm my heart. And for the guest reviewer who left a comment that I had no way to reply to, I am sorry you feel my story is running too long. It will be as long as necessary, and not one word shorter. That is the way it is with writing, you must tell the story as you know it and want to share it. If you like very short stories, then I am not the author for you.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Mentalist. Wish I did, but it is not to be!**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 17 A Babe In The Woods

The safe house was really an older bungalow on the outskirts of downtown Austin. It was inconspicuous in that it resembled so many other buildings of the same sort on that street. Lisbon had gotten herself settled in a matter of minutes since she brought nothing with her. It was up to her to fill her time now that she was no longer in the field and on active duty. The inactivity was driving her crazy. The female agent assigned to watch over her was out buying some things that Lisbon had requested, so she wanted to enjoy being alone for this short time. Flipping open her laptop she sent a quick email to Wylie asking him for an update on any info he may have uncovered regarding Katarina's whereabouts or anything else pertinent to the ongoing case. Waiting for his reply would take a great deal of patience on her part. Cho had flown to Maine and had not checked in with her at all. What did that mean? Teresa hoped it meant nothing had been accomplished yet, and not that Cho was hiding bad news from her for the time being. Gawd she had to stop analyzing everything! Her cell phone lay on the table within reach and she stared at it, willing it to ring. A ding on her computer alerted her to an email coming in. Her fingers flew over the keyboard as she opened the message Wylie had just sent. Scanning the content, Teresa sighed in disappointment. Wylie said that Cho had not found Jane or Laila yet, they were still on the hunt. The email was suspiciously void of detail, and Teresa knew something more had happened that Cho would not let Wylie tell her. They had the address of the farm! Jan Nemic had assured the FBI that he wanted to cooperate and help them find his lunatic sister once and for all. So what was going on in Maine?

Teresa got up and made herself a pot of decaf coffee as it was going be a long night and she would not be able to sleep, not now, not until she heard from Cho. As she was walking back through the compact living room, she heard her cell phone ringing and quickened her pace, difficult now with her large belly slowing her progress.

"Cho! Oh thank God you called. What's going on? Where's Jane?" she asked him, her questions waterfalling out of her mouth faster than he could answer them.

"We conducted a raid on the farm where Jan Nemic said he had lived years ago. It was a disaster. Katarina doesn't live there anymore and we terrified a nice family living there. Not one of our best moments." he admitted with a sigh.

"How did it all go so wrong Cho?" asked Teresa.

"Jan gave us the right address, but he didn't know that Katarina sold the farm using his name as her own and moved 18 months ago. We believe she is still in the area and have made contact with the real estate agent who handled the sale. We are hoping the agent will be able to trace any other sales of farms in the area that could have been made to Katarina under an assumed name."

"So we are no farther ahead than we were this morning" Teresa said in defeat.

"We know more than we did this morning Teresa, that's something. The real estate agent is working through her channels with all the other agents locally. If one of them made a sale that looks suspicious, we'll know very soon."

"Tell me the moment you have something OK Cho?" Teresa begged Cho.

"You bet. Goodnight Teresa, try to get some rest. Talk to you soon." And then Cho was gone.

Teresa sat back on the sofa holding her coffee, thinking and worrying, until the agent returned with her purchases. It was going to be a long and difficult night, and for now, Teresa was glad she would not be alone.

XXXXX

Laila huddled under the tarp praying for the rain to stop. Even when it did the ground would be so soft and squishy it would make running a lot harder. Her mind focussed on Mr. Jane and she was consumed with worry for his well-being. She could see he was hurting badly, even if he had not admitted it to her. She didn't know what Katarina's goons had done to him while he was in the basement but she assumed it wasn't good. The rain had slowed somewhat and her legs were cramping up from squatting down in the damp air. She peeked out from under the dripping tarp and made a rash decision. Looking at the dark sky she realized the rain would not stop any time soon, and she did not relish the prospect of sitting on her haunches out in the woods all night long, so she was going to make a run for freedom through the rain. She was wet anyway, so what the hell… Mr. Jane needed to be found, and she wanted to be found. Decision made, she threw the tarp off her shoulders and stood up, flexing her legs and stretching them out, readying herself for a dash to the highway. She had taken several steps away from the shack when she looked up and was shocked to find herself staring at the face of a young man dressed in a camo coloured rain suit, carrying a hunting rifle cocked open over his arm. He took a step back in surprise too as he assumed he would be totally alone in this far corner of the woods.

"Oh geez! You startled me!" she shouted.

"Well you scared the crap outta me too" he admitted. "What are you doing out here in the rain?"

"I'm running away from some bad people and trying to find some help! Do you have a cell phone on you that I can use to call for help?" she asked, stepping closer to the man.

He had been drinking heavily all afternoon, and even though his brain was foggy, he immediately thought of the phone he carried in his backpack. He might be drunk but he wasn't going to let this sweet young thing know his phone was working and available. This was an opportunity he couldn't pass up! A scared, pretty young woman lost in his woods, right beside the shack that he had the key to unlock, a dry place, out of the rain… his mind spun a scenario quickly as he took in her slim body and firm breasts.

"Naw, sorry, I don't bother with a phone out here, no reception" he lied, pointing with fake regret skyward. "You sure look wet and tired, you want to come inside and dry off for a while?" he suggested, pointing to the shack.

Laila smelled the beer on his breath and felt a chill of apprehension go up her spine. If she entered that shack with this man, she would not emerge unscathed. She needed to get the hell away from him as soon as possible.

"I can do my best to make you real comfortable" he said with a grin, advancing on Laila as he spoke. "Pretty little thing like you should get all those wet clothes off and get warm and cosy with me!" he leered.

"No, no thanks for the offer. I gotta go now. I've been gone too long and people might be looking for me…" she said as she backed up. The young man kept advancing towards her, stumbling slightly, his gun drooping lower on his arm as he focussed on his intended victim. A little rough sex during a thunderstorm sounded like a fun way to pass the time until the sun came out he thought. Laila stepped back until her foot hit a large broken tree branch. Without much thinking she scooped it up into her hand and rushed forward swinging it at the young man's cocky face. Realizing what she was about to do he dropped his weapon and raised his hands to protect his face. The beer had dulled his reflexes and he was slow to react. The branch connected with the side of his head and made a sickening sound as his head snapped to the side. He dropped down to his knees and then keeled over, dazed and bleeding. Laila grabbed the hunting rifle, with no idea how to use it and took off running in sheer panic. If he came after her, she would have to decide just what to do with that gun. She prayed she would not have to make that decision.

XXXXXX

Jane's body bumped and banged against the sides of the small box on the back of the ATV. He was out cold, mostly from the punch to the jaw, but also as a result of starvation and exhaustion. Physically, he knew he was almost at the far reaches of his limit to keep it together and put up a show of bravado in Katarina's presence. If the beatings and starvation, freezing and thirst continued, he would soon embarrass himself and fall apart. He had to think and think hard, as his mind now would be his only weapon against this lunatic bitch if he could not make it to freedom. This had been his goal when he ran away, to not have to rely just on his mind as a last resort. He hoped he would never have to get to that point. But it all had gone to hell, and now his unconscious body was being returned to the woman whom he feared could end his life as he knew it very soon.

The grey man radioed ahead to let Katarina know that he had been successful in his mission to find the wayward Mr. Jane. She smiled into the phone, relishing their looming reunion. But what to do with Mr. Jane now? She had had so many plans for him that morning, plans that called on a ratcheting up of her systematic breaking down of his will. He had to say the words she wanted to hear. He would be her man, forsaking his family and all others he deemed important in his life. She would be his sun, moon and universe. If he could not swear his loyalty to her today or tomorrow, then his situation would not improve and he would continue to suffer at her hands. But everyone has their breaking point. She had a tool that she was sure would hasten his cooperation. Yes, maybe it was time to show him what his wife back home was up against.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The call to the real estate agent took some time to put through, as it was late in the day and everyone had gone home. Cho had Wylie search for the home address of Madeline Burrows, and he finally connected with her as she was about to go out for the evening. She was beyond startled to be speaking with a real FBI agent and even more shocked to discover she might have sold a farm to someone they deemed dangerous. She hastily drove over to her office and got to work, searching her files for anything that might come up as a match for their criteria. She contacted other real estate offices with the request that they do the same thing to quicken the search. Cho and his SWAT team could do nothing more until some useful intel shook loose from this process. He considered texting Lisbon, but since there was nothing new to tell her, he decided to wait. He knew that she would be going crazy, but he wanted his next call to be the one letting her know that they had found Jane, alive and well.

XXXXXXXX

Laila ran as if the devil himself was on her heels. Fear and adrenaline aided her in her escape from the drunk pervert back in the woods. She found a trail and was following it, hoping that it would lead to someone who would listen to her and help her find Jane. The trail widened and the trees became less dense, the sound of the highway getting louder and louder in front of her. One of the grey men could be out there somewhere, but she had to keep going, praying that if he was on the highway, he would be miles away in the wrong direction. Another 15 minutes and she burst out of the trees and saw the long black ribbon of asphalt snaking through the countryside. She paused to catch her breath, imagining how bizarre she must have looked, soaking wet, covered in mud and twigs, and hair a tangled mess. She could explain it all later, but first she had to flag down a car or truck and find help. She walked across the culvert and up onto the shoulder of the highway, looking ahead to see if a car was coming. In the rainy distance she saw a sedan approaching. She stepped out closer to the road and started to wave her hand frantically at the driver, praying for her to stop. The young woman driving a carload of kids saw the crazy looking woman a the side of the road and sped up, not in the least willing to engage with her and endanger her children. Laila saw the car speed past her and could have cried in frustration. She turned around and tried again. A small truck was advancing towards her at speed and she stepped out again, frantic to make him stop. The driver of the truck was engrossed in changing the channel on his truck radio and didn't even notice the small figure on the side of the road in the gathering gloom. She saw his taillights disappear down the road and felt tears streaming down her face. She started to walk along the shoulder of the road, determined to walk to the next town if that is what it took to find shelter. 5 minutes later she heard a car approach from behind and she stepped out to flag it down. It was a police cruiser and the young officer behind the wheel gaped at her in amazement. She was clearly in distress and he was going to stop and give her aid, until he realized that she was waving a large hunting rifle at him. He stomped on the brakes and skidded to a halt, throwing open the door of his cruiser and hunkered down behind it, his gun drawn and aimed at Laila.

"Drop the weapon and put your hands up!" he shouted.

Laila was confused. What was he doing? Why was he hiding behind his car door? Did he have his gun pointed at her? All of these thoughts flashed through her mind at breakneck speed as she stepped closer to him, completely forgetting the rifle she had been clutching for the last half hour. It had become a part of her hand and now the officer thought she was going to shoot him with it.

"Drop the rifle and put your hands on your head! Do it now!" screamed the scared young officer, never having confronted an armed person before. He was as scared and confused as Laila was. She stopped walking and realized what he was saying. She looked at her hand and saw the rifle and the threat it implied. She suddenly knew she had to move very carefully or risk being shot by mistake.

"I mean you no harm officer! Please, don't shoot! I'm putting it down ok? " she said as she slowly bent down to put the gun on the muddy ground. "See, it's down, it's ok!" she shouted at him.

"Kick it away with your foot, keep your hands on your head. Do it now!" he yelled, remembering his academy training, his gun still levelled at Laila.

She did as she was told and kicked the gun into the grass on the shoulder of the highway. She kept her fingers locked on the top of her head as she shivered in terror. "I need help officer, you need to help me! I am not a criminal, I was kidnapped!"

"Lay down on the ground, do it now, don't move an inch or I will shoot you!" screamed the officer. He was running on adrenaline and wasn't believing a word this woman said. Laila looked at the mud all around her and knew she had to do what he said. She dropped to her knees and lay down in the rain and muck and instantly felt the cold ooze soak through her jeans and t-shirt. She was freezing. The young officer stepped out from behind his car, gun still aimed at this tiny young woman shaking on the ground. He didn't know if she had another weapon on her so he proceeded with caution. Once he stood over her he put his knee into her back and quickly grabbed her wrists in his big hand, holding them together while he holstered his gun and took out his handcuffs. Once he had Laila in restraints he dragged her upright and marched her to the police car, and shoved her into the back seat. She was terrified but the warmth of the car felt like a tiny bit of heaven in this day from hell

The officer checked his computer screen for a BOLO on this woman. Within minutes he was rewarded with a police issued photo of Laila Kovac, wanted in the kidnapping of Patrick Jane, a Federal employee. The officer stared at Laila in the mirror and was immensely proud of himself for capturing this very dangerous felon. He radioed his arrest back to home base and started his cruiser to take her into custody in the next town. While she cowered in fear in the back seat, he had visions of a commendation going into his file very soon.

The word of the capture of Laila Kovac cracked across the police radio network, and within minutes the news hit the local police accompanying Cho and his SWAT Team. Cho listened in to the report of Laila's capture and instantly knew he had to get to her first, before the local uniforms got bogged down in booking her and doing reams of paperwork.

"I need you to radio your officer and tell him to meet us at the next sideroad. We need to speak to Laila Kovac before she is taken into custody!" Cho commanded the cop standing before him.

"But she is a kidnapping suspect Agent Cho, one we have been looking for for days." he said reasonably.

"She is also a potential victim in all this and in all likelihood can direct us to Katarina Nemic's farm and to Patrick Jane. Are you willing to lose that intel to make an arrest?" he questioned the cop.

The cop weighed this possibility and made a snap decision. He got on his radio to the dispatcher. She then radioed the excited young cop and told him to make a detour, much to his disappointment and confusion.

15 minutes later the cruiser pulled over to the side of the road and the young officer was stunned to be met by FBI agents, SWAT officers, and local cops.

"What the hell Sarge?" he asked, clearly over his head on this case. "This is my arrest, I want the credit for bringing this suspect in!" he complained, only thinking of his reputation.

"Stand down officer. This is a Federal issue. You did good son, but Laila Kovac needs to be interrogated by the FBI. Get her out of the cruiser and bring her over here" said the older officer.

The cop trudged over to his cruiser, cursing under his breath as he opened the door and roughly hauled Laila out and over to the assembled group of FBI agents. His first collar turns out to be on the FBI's most wanted list and now they were taking it away from him. He was pissed!

XXXXXXXXX

 **So at least Laila is relatively safe with Cho! Now she must tell them as much as possible to help Jane! Thanks for your kind words in your reviews. I am especially thrilled to know how excited you get reading the tense parts**!


	18. Meanwhile, Back on the Farm

**Laila is lucky to be in Cho's care. Anyone else would have had her in a cell by now. But what of Jane? Will he manage another escape or has he run out of chances?**

 **Thanks to everyone who reviewed that last chapter. And for all the new readers, thank you for tuning in! Much appreciated!**

 **Disclaimer: The Mentalist is not mine. Really.**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 18 Meanwhile, Back on the Farm...

Cho grasped her by her upper arm and led her away to a large SWAT vehicle. He could feel her trembling under his hand and he felt a twinge of sympathy for this very young woman. She looked like she had been dragged behind a truck, so wet and muddy and cold. He helped her up into the truck and was followed by several officers and agents. The first thing he did was uncuff her and direct her to a seat in the back of the large SWAT truck. He felt she posed no threat to him or anyone else. Laila was immobilized with fear. The cop holding her at gunpoint on the highway was terrifying, but now she was surrounded by FBI agents and SWAT guys. She felt her life was now effectively over.

Cho leaned in and looked at her sternly. He needed her to focus and calm down. She looked like she would collapse at any time, and then what good would she be to them.

"Anybody got a cup of coffee in here?" he asked. A thermos was passed down and he handed it to Laila. "Pass me a blanket too, this kid is freezing!" A blanket materialized and Cho placed it around Laila's small shoulders.

"Drink this, you need it" he said, stating the obvious. Laila took the warm thermos from his hand and gratefully took a long swig of the rich liquid. She savoured it for a moment and then looked up at Cho, feeling that perhaps this man would listen to her story.

"Please let me talk OK? That officer who arrested me wouldn't listen to me and he was going to shoot me!" she babbled.

Cho nodded his head, yes, and told her to calm down, take another drink and relax.

"Laila, we have been looking for you for 4 days, you and Patrick Jane. We need to find Mr. Jane as soon as possible. Can you help us with that?" Cho asked her calmly.

Laila sighed in relief at the chance to finally tell someone what had happened.

"Agent… what's your name sir?" she asked.

'Agent Cho"

"OK, Agent Cho, I want to help you find Mr. Jane. Patrick and I escaped from Katarina Nemic's farm earlier today. He was imprisoned in her basement but somehow got out, and then he came looking for me, so we could both escape. We took off around lunch time and we have been running ever since" she began.

"So if you left together, where is Jane now?" he asked.

"Mr. Jane was hurt, I don't know how badly by Katarina's men, so he couldn't run as fast as me. The storm was coming and he was afraid he would slow me down. He told me to leave him behind and try to find some help. I didn't want to leave him" she explained, looking around at the assembled faces listening intently to her story. "I wanted to stay with him, he's such a good man, but he wouldn't let me. So, I started to run. Mr. Jane said if I found help we should go back and look for him."

Cho nodded at this information, as Jane would always try to protect a young person no matter how it affected himself. Jane had a soft spot for children.

'Where'd you get the shotgun Laila, and why did you point it at the officer if you wanted help?" asked the older cop.

"That's not what happened, really! I was running through the woods and took shelter by an old shack. I stayed for a short time but the rain wouldn't stop, so I decided to keep running. A drunk guy showed up dressed like a hunter, you know, all covered up in that camouflage clothing. He had that rifle with him and he wanted to drag me into the shack and force me to have sex with him! I needed to get away and get help for me and Mr. Jane."

"Doesn't explain how you got the gun Laila" nudged Cho.

"The guy was so drunk he was stumbling. He was going to force me into the shack. I knew I had to get away from him so I whacked him over the head with a tree branch and grabbed the gun and ran. If I left the gun with him and he caught up with me, maybe he would have shot me with it!" she explained. "I ran til I found the highway and forgot I had it in my hand. I flagged down the policeman and forgot I was holding a gun, honestly! I swear it, I don't even know to shoot one of those things! The officer was never in any danger, I just wanted help!" she cried. Her tears had been threatening to spill for so long now, and once they began, she couldn't hold them back. She wept in despair, afraid no one was believing her.

"Laila, if you are telling the truth, we should be able to find this shack in the woods, correct? And this guy, if you hit him hard enough, maybe he would go to a clinic to get medical help, correct?" said Cho.

"Yes, absolutely. Go and look for yourselves. I hurt him with that tree branch. He might still be laying out there sleeping off his beer in the rain right now" she suggested, praying they would search for the shack and find the guy to confirm her story.

Cho got up and called two men over to him, giving them instructions. They soon left, donning waterproof pants and coats and rain boots. They spoke to the young officer who was still sitting in his cruiser pouting about losing his famous prisoner to the FBI. When the two agents approached him and asked him to guide them back to the spot where he found Laila up at the side of the road, his mood picked up. The FBI was asking for his help! He eagerly agreed to lead the FBI SUV to the spot on the highway. Laila had told Cho approximately how far into the woods she thought the shack was, so the agents had a good idea where to narrow their search. Finding the shack and the man would go a long way to prove to the assembled lawmen that Laila's word could be trusted.

Once the agents had left following the police cruiser, Cho returned to Laila and got down to the most important questions of all.

"Laila, do you know where Katarina Nemic's farm is around here?"

Laila certainly knew what it looked like from the outside, but she would not know which way to go to find it. She gave the lawmen a very detailed description of the farmhouse, the barn and the building behind the house where Jane had almost been frozen to death. Based on the time she and Jane started to run away, the weather conditions and their slow pace due to Jane's poor health, the FBI had to guess how far away the property was from their current location.

"Let me come with you when you try to find the farm, please!" begged Laila. Cho had hoped that the real estate agent would have found the paperwork from a sale 18 months earlier by now, but no call had come in giving them that valuable information yet. Cho knew he should have Laila in cuffs and under arrest, sitting in a jail cell at this exact moment, but she was the only one who had been to the farm, and the only one who knew the layout of the whole house.

"Please Agent Cho, let me help you find Mr. Jane or capture my Aunt. She is a dangerous woman and we need to stop her from hurting anymore people" she said with sincerity. "If we don't find her, she will keep coming for me, and my life will never be my own."

Cho searched her young face and had to admit she was presently no threat to any of them, and she could quite possibly be the difference between finding Katarina and Jane today or not at all.

'If we let you come with us, we will have to put the handcuffs back on you Ms. Kovac, you understand that don't you?" he said sternly.

"Yes sir, I know." she said, afraid that she might have to get used to wearing them a lot in her future.

Cho reached behind his back and put his handcuffs on her slim wrists, feeling that she did not deserve this, but he had no other choice. Sometimes the rules of his job sucked. That done, he led Laila out of the SWAT truck and got into his SUV, putting her in the seat next to his up front. More Agents piled into the black SUV, and gradually the convoy assembled and pulled out onto the highway and headed back towards the area where Laila thought they should start looking. It was dark now and many of the farmhouses sat far back from the road, making it even more difficult to recognize the farmhouse belonging to her Aunt in the gloom. The line of black vehicles crawled up the highway, pausing surreptitiously at any farm that had the same configuration of buildings that Laila knew so well. Each time Laila would stare at the farmhouse in question and eventually shake her head in disappointment, no, not this one, no, not that one. One house was too modern, one too dilapidated, one was the wrong colour, one had no out buildings at all, and so it went, farm by farm, into the evening.

Cho was getting frustrated and some of the agents radioed in their concern that Laila was leading them on a wild goose chase. She heard that over the radio and turned to Cho in a panic.

"I know it Agent Cho, I do! When I see it I will know! What if we are on the wrong side of the highway and we need go the other way? "

Cho's patience was wearing thin, but she might have been right. If it had not been so dark they could have a helicopter fly overhead and scan the countryside for the right buildings, but after dark it was risky. They would have to shine a spotlight on the houses, tipping off Katarina when her house landed in the light under the police chopper. They were stuck doing this slow search until either Laila saw her Aunt's farmhouse, or the real estate agent finally called with the address. Cho told the convoy to turn around at the next exit and they began a new search going the other way, searching for a pin in a pile of pins as Jane liked to say.

XXXXXXX

The ATV was almost at the farm and the grey man checked on his prisoner lying behind him. Jane was jostled around with every bump but didn't move otherwise. Soon the lights of the barn showed up in the near distance and the grey man began to smile in anticipation. He had no idea if the other minion had returned with Laila, and pitied him if he came back empty handed.

Katarina had spent the time since Jane and Laila were discovered missing ranting and seething with anger. Her emotions were a wildly swinging pendulum these days, but today the pendulum almost flew out beyond the edge of sanity. When her bodyguard had called to tell her that Jane was once again his prisoner, her anger had started to cool, replaced with a new focus, a plan to dismantle the large ego of Patrick Jane. Her torment of him would have to be shortened to get to her end result faster. That was fine with her, she liked to inflict pain.

Katarina was convinced Jane could be tamed and controlled. She was sadly deluded in thinking this way, as Jane would never be tamed by anyone but Teresa, and she had done that with love, not torture. If she could break Jane quickly enough with the right incentive, she would achieve her ultimate goal. Her plan was so simple: Jane would engineer a prison break and get Jan out of jail and bring him back to his sister. Once Jane was a wanted man for helping Jan Nemic escape, then he would be on the wrong side of the law once again and on the run. Katarina had studied Jane's history on the internet and knew he had had to hide away for 2 years after killing Red John with his bare hands. Who knew this handsome intelligent man had that in him, to kill so savagely? Katarina smiled at the idea of it… make Jane a criminal again. He wouldn't get away with it again, not like before with Timothy Carter and Sheriff McAllister, so his only option would be to stay on the run, with her and her other grey men. That's why she had also chosen her own niece to help commit a kidnapping. The perfect way to make sure Laila stayed and joined the family business. And where could Laila go now? She would be wanted by every law enforcement agency out there, especially the FBI. No, Laila was not running to the police any time soon, she would have to hide like a dog until her Aunt's men found her and dragged her back to do her duty to her family. Katarina smiled at her own cleverness, delighted that her crime family was growing ever larger with two very intelligent new members forced by their crimes to be loyal to her. Time was no deterrent to Katarina, she could wait for that happy day.

The sound of the ATV pulling into the yard stirred Katarina from her musings and she stepped out onto the porch to watch the return of Mr. Jane. The grey man parked the ATV by the porch and walked around to the back, reaching in and grabbing Jane by the shoulders, dragging him out of the box and dumping him onto the wet ground. The fall jolted Jane and he stirred, groaning loudly as his broken knee slammed into the mud. Jane roused himself and looked around in confusion, trying to make sense of his situation. He turned his head to see why he was lying in the mud and found himself staring into the glowing eyes of Katarina Nemic.

She stooped down and whispered into his frightened face.

"Welcome home again" she purred, raising her finger to indicate to the grey man to bring Jane into the house.

Jane reared up in revulsion and tried to fight off the grey man, but with no leverage, a useless leg and no ability to run, he was now as defenseless as a kitten. The man lifted Jane up around his midsection and half carried, half dragged him up the steps onto the porch. Jane's leg banged on every step on the way up, sending shockwaves of pain through his leg and into his core. Crying out in pain with every jolt, Patrick tried to grip the railing and prevent the man from getting into the house. Jane feared that once he passed through that portal, he would never leave again.

The large man peeled Jane's fingers off the railing and hauled him through the front door as Katarina held it open. The grey man stood in the foyer with his prize while Katarina took a good long look at the once elegant Mr. Jane. He was covered in mud, his hair a dripping mess, tangled with grass and twigs, his black t-shirt now a muddy wet mess hanging off his chest. His right leg hung out at a dangerous angle and his left leg floundered on the floor, trying to gain footing underneath his weak body. Any self assurance that he had felt yesterday was gone. He struggled vainly against his much heavier and healthier captor, panting at the expenditure of energy against his immovable foe. Katarina moved closer and ran her eyes over his shaking body, excited by his helplessness, a tingle running through her the way that sex would move a normal person in much different circumstances.

"So glad you have come back to me Mr. Jane. We have so much work to do, you and I" she said lovingly, caressing his horrified face.

"You left far too soon. I wasn't finished with you yet".

She turned and led the way down the long polished hall towards the door in the wall. Taking the key out of her pocket, she unlocked the basement door and stepped through, followed by the grey man lugging Jane's protesting body. As they descended the creaking wooden stairs to the first basement room, fear gripped Jane's heart as he knew this time, there was no escape, no picking locks and running away. Whatever happened in this basement of torments was going to happen no matter what he said or did. He feared going through the second doorway as it would lead to God only knew what….

Katarina stepped down into the second room and indicated to her man to take Patrick not to his cell, but to the far wall at the end of the room. The grey man walked the length of the room and when he got to the end, he propped Jane up against the old brick wall, standing him on his one good but shaky leg. He grabbed an arm and put it into a shackle which was bolted high on the wall, repeating the process with the other arm. Now Jane was bolted to the wall, forced to stand balanced on his left leg while his other leg hung uselessly off to the side. The effort to remain upright was excruciating. If his leg gave out, Patrick would collapse and tear out his shoulders.

Katarina strolled leisurely over to Jane and stared at him. Normally he would have glared right back at her, proud and unbroken, but now he let his head hang down, staring at the dirt beneath his feet. His body had given out, broken by pain and exhaustion.

Sighing loudly, Katarina said what was foremost on her mind.

"Mr. Jane, how long must we do this dance, hmmm? You will be my man, you will do what I saw when I say, for as long as I say, because ultimately, I want you dead. You are the person responsible for my brother going to prison, and I hate you for that. I told you on your first day as my guest that you would please me most by dying. And you will die… but first, you will leave your wife and baby behind and come work for me and me alone."

Patrick raised his head up at the mention of his pregnant wife.

"What makes you so sure I will do that Katarina? What possible incentive could I have to do that for you?" he spat out hoarsely.

Katarina walked over to the dining table in the middle of the room and retrieved the laptop placed there. She flipped it open as she walked back to her prisoner.

'Your incentive will be keeping your wife and baby alive Mr. Jane. If memory serves me well, you failed miserably the first time around with Angela and Charlotte, didn't you Patrick? You failed them and they are dead. If you submit to me, Teresa will not be harmed."

Patrick was stung by the mention of his first family. He had to fight back somehow, show he was unaffected by this rehashing of his sad past.

"So you can read, congratulations. My life is an open book, all over the internet. Everybody knows what happened to my family. But Teresa knows how to protect herself Katarina. Empty words don't scare me…" he said with conviction he did not actually feel.

"Words are just words, you are quite correct Mr. Jane. But as we both know, actions speak louder than words." She approached him with the laptop open.

"Let's watch a little movie shall we?" she crooned softly, turning the screen around to face Jane. He peered at the video that popped up. What he saw truly frightened him.

XXXXXXX

 **Katarina's ego knows no limits. As far as she is concerned, Patrick can be broken. Is she right? What will she use as a threat against Teresa's safety? Stay tuned faithful readers, more to come!**


	19. Smile for the Camera

**Well we are getting closer and closer to finding out if Cho will get to Patrick in time and arrest that luney bitch Katarina! She is some nutcase! The chapters are coming fast now, I am so into writing this story!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not make any money off the Mentalist. Nada...**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 19 Smile for the Camera

The grey man who had taken off in the van looking for Laila was worried sick. He had driven up and down the highway going past Katarina's farmhouse multiple times, and took to the side roads on the off-chance Laila and Jane had made their way that far over in the last several hours. He had not seen a single sign of them. How could they disappear on foot so quickly? Now as the night was approaching, he had to make a huge decision. Did he risk going back to Katarina empty handed and risk her insane temper, or should he keep searching in a last ditch effort to spot them struggling along a road somewhere? Katarina paid him a lot of money to do her bidding and keep his mouth shut, and the fact that she was a crazy bitch didn't affect the colour of her money. No matter how odd her behaviour, life here in the States was far better than his life had been back home in a grubby little backwoods village in Slovakia. The modern world had passed his village by, and when Katarina had come looking for men to do her bidding, he had not thought twice about it. America, here I come… So now what? Keep looking for those two people or just take off? He sat behind the wheel of the van thinking, weighing his options. His English was very poor, as they always spoke in his native tongue at the farm. If he ran away and withdrew his money, his lack of English would slow him down in his escape. He had no doubt her other bodyguard would sniff him out and bring him back to his crazy boss with glee. There was no loyalty amongst criminals. As long as he did what he was told, wore that stupid cheap grey suit, and pretended that Katarina employed a whole army of loyal grey men, she treated him alright. He could play the game she had established so well. So, stay and find Jane and Laila, or take the money and run? Maybe he could ditch the suit and make a run to the Riviera, basking in the sun, away from Katarina's reach. But if he stayed a bit longer, he would have enough money to leave for good, disappear back to Europe and start a new life away from this tenuous existence. Sighing in frustration, he turned the key in the van and slowly drove away, willing to take one final drive up the road, perhaps to find his runaways and reap the rewards that would surely bring him. Then, he would leave for good.

XXXXXXX

The convoy of FBI and police vehicles proceeded along the highway, drawing the amazed stares of locals going about their business. It bothered Cho that they were so conspicuous, but they had no other choice but to keep on with their search. The real estate agent had not come through for them and Wylie was pouring over sales in that area online and also had not come up with anything so far. If the name Jan Nemic was on a registered document for the sale of a farmhouse 18 months ago, it should have shown up by now. This was turning into a crap storm of monumental proportions. If someone had screwed up on the paperwork…

Cho mulled all this over as he drove along the road, Laila beside him staring intently at every property they passed. He was deep in thought when she suddenly shouted and yelled at him to stop.

"I think I see it! Pull over Agent Cho! I think this might be it!" she screamed in excitement. Cho slammed on the brakes, causing a chain reaction all down the highway. He slowly pulled over to the shoulder of the road and turned to Laila, hope written all over his face.

"Are you sure? Because if you aren't, we will be raiding the wrong place and lose our chance to find Katarina and Jane. Be very sure!" he warned her.

Laila was straining her neck to see better through the rain washed window on the passenger side of the SUV.

"Can we get out and get a better look?" she asked.

Cho looked at her, deciding if this was just a ruse for her to make her escape. Time was ticking away. He looked at her beaming face and had to take a chance on her, again.

"If this is your idea of an escape attempt Laila, I will shoot you, you understand? You try to run, I will take the shot!"

Laila looked horrified at his words. Escaping had never entered her mind. She was just trying to help.

"What can I do to convince you I won't escape? Do you want to handcuff me to you? Because I won't fight you Agent Cho. I need to see the farm a bit closer in this light, and I won't run. How far could I get with half the police force assembled on the side of the road, all pointing their guns at me?"

Cho considered her reasoning and took in her small, frightened appearance. If he assigned a guard to stay with her…. they could get out and take a look. They would have to stay low to avoid detection if someone at the farm was on the lookout for the police.

"OK. But you will do exactly what I tell you to do, got that?" he warned her.

"Yes sir" she replied, happy to finally prove her worth.

"Smith, get up here and keep watch on her when we get out of the car."

"Yes sir!"

Cho and his team got out of the vehicle while the rest of the cohort was apprised of the new developments. Cho and Smith crept down the road, along with a handcuffed Laila, under the cover of the treeline and darkness. When they saw the lights of the barn, Cho turned to Laila with the question evident on his face.

"Well?"

Laila smiled and nodded her head. 'This is it! This is Katarina's farm! I was held here for almost a week. That building out back is where she almost killed Mr. Jane a couple of days ago!"

Cho momentarily jolted when he heard that bit of bad news, then recovered. "You sure? We can't make a mistake" he warned her.

Laila turned her back to the farm and began to recite details to Cho.

"Check it out...the porch is slightly crooked, tipping to the left. The paint needs to be touched up, it looks old and peeling. The barn has a light on inside, by the door. The upstairs bedroom window on the side of the house facing the barn has yellow lace curtains and a roman blind, white. I know because that is my bedroom. The living room has heavy cream coloured curtains on the front windows, and there is an addition on the house on the left side, sticking out with no windows on that side…" she rattled off in rapid succession. Every detail was correct.

"I can go on if you like" she offered.

Cho smiled at her, pleased that once again her word could be trusted.

"I think you have convinced us" he smiled, looking at the other agent, who nodded in agreement.

They ran back to the other vehicles and gathered the lawmen around them for a quick meeting. They decided to drive away and park their vehicles out of sight, then run back under the cover of the trees to assemble a strike on the house. Cho was uncomfortable with not knowing if Jane was still out in the woods somewhere, possibly hurt, but he had to take down Katarina while he had the chance. It was an impossible choice to make. As they pulled into a clearing to park their assorted vehicles, Cho's radio sprang to life. His agents had found the shack and the drunk hunter passed out half under a tarp, blood on the side of his head. They had taken him into custody for questioning. Cho grinned at this news, realizing that everything Laila had told them was true, each and every detail. The agents also reported that they had not found Jane anywhere along the trail, but the grass at the bottom of a hill was flattened and the earth torn up by what looked like spinning wheels. Cho thanked his agents for their good work and switched off the radio with a sinking feeling. She had him. In his gut, he knew Katarina's men had found Jane and taken him back to the farm. The stakes had suddenly been raised. It was not just a raid to capture Katarina, but a rescue mission as well. He hoped it would not end up being a mission to recover a body.

Cho took out his phone and placed a call to Teresa. He couldn't keep this latest development from her any longer. She must be going crazy waiting for news, bad or good.

The phone rang on the coffee table and Teresa grabbed it on the second ring.

"Cho! What is it? Did you find him?" she blurted out.

"Teresa, we found Laila and she led us to the farm. We are assembling to stage a raid. I believe Jane is inside with Katarina. We will do everything we can to bring him out alive Teresa" he said, in his formal, clipped manner.

"Please Cho, bring him back to me" Teresa breathed into the phone.

"I will. Stay close to the phone" he said, then clicked off. There was no time for more talk. It was time to go.

XXXXXX

Katarina lifted the laptop up to make sure Jane had a good view of the screen as she hit the play button for the video. The scene opened up with Jane and Lisbon sitting by their pond, sipping tea and watching the ducks. The camera lingered on them then shifted to the cabin, where the camera moved through the house, room by room. Patrick's breath caught in his throat as he realized someone had been in his house, roaming around while he and his wife sat unaware at the pond. The next video showed them shopping at the Whole Foods store, buying wine and cheese, bread and condiments. Jane was teasing Teresa with a large cookie, pretending to eat it without paying for it. Patrick looked at the video, his heart constricting in love and worry as he stared at his beautiful, innocent wife. The next scene was shot as Teresa stepped out of their car and Jane escorted her inside to the doctor's office for a prenatal checkup. A moment later he and Teresa were sitting at an outdoor cafe having lunch in the sun, watching the world go by. As Patrick watched, he saw his daily life with Teresa captured on film, his daily activities and her comings and goings, either alone or with her husband. A large tear rolled down Patrick's face as he looked at his wife with new eyes. She was so radiant in her pregnancy, so round and fertile, brimming with promised life. Her skin glowed and her hair shone in lustrous waves. Never before had he loved her more. He had to blink back his tears to see the videos as they proceeded relentlessly. Now it showed he and Teresa leaving work together several days ago, then Teresa going to work alone. The next video showed her leaving work and looking around the parking lot in frustration, trying to find her missing husband. Jane realized it was the last day he had been in Austin, when he had been taken and she didn't yet know. The video followed her home, up onto the porch and peeked under the window shade, revealing her sitting on their sofa with a tea in her hand, worrying about her missing husband. The videos kept coming and Patrick broke down sobbing at the sight of them.

"You see Mr. Jane, you have been my chief preoccupation for some time now. My man in Austin has been very busy documenting your life. You know what Mr. Jane?" she asked.

He glared at her with glassy eyes and didn't grace her with a response.

"Don't be rude Mr. Jane. As I was saying, I have been following you for some time and you are quite predictable of late! You have a nice little daily routine, making my job so much easier. You really should change up your routine sometimes. But no, you go to the office and meet your wife with the regularity of a train schedule. And you go to your favourite tea shop on precisely the same day, just before noon, each week. Thank you Patrick. Thank you very much. It made taking you very very easy."

She snapped the laptop shut and put it back on the table. She turned back to Jane and stood in front of him with her arms crossed in front of her.

"Now if that is not an incentive to do exactly what I want I don't know what is. Your wife is being watched day and night. If she goes out, I know about it. If she is sick, I know about it. If I want her dead, it will happen Mr. Jane. I think this little exercise proves just how fragile your wife's safety is. Wouldn't you agree Mr. Jane?" she teased.

"She will figure out what you are doing soon enough" he bluffed, not at all sure Teresa would ever realize the danger she and their baby were in.

"I don't think so Patrick. And when you never come home, she will eventually move on with her life and replace you in her affections. It will be for the best for everyone concerned. A win-win situation all 'round" smiled Katarina. Patrick's temper flared at her smugness.

'Go to hell!" he shouted in a rage, pulling at his chains.

Katarina smiled grimly at him and leaned in close, whispering in his ear.

"Didn't I say not to be rude?"

She nodded at the waiting grey man and he stepped forward, wrapping his big hand around Jane's throat, squeezing it slowly, increasing the pressure incrementally until Jane's eyes started to bulge and his face turned purple, the sounds of his gurgling and writhing against the wall drowning out Katarina's snickers. Jane twisted and pulled against his restraints, trying to shake off the hand that was crushing the breath out of him. He fought hard to breathe, tried to push the larger man's body away but could not use his arms. Minutes slipped away and gradually Patrick stopped fighting back, his body becoming limp in the chains. Katarina touched the grey man's shoulder and he dropped his hand from Patrick's throat instantly. He turned and walked away, waiting for her next command. Katarina stepped up to Patrick and slapped him across the face to rouse him. His head remained resting on his chest and she slapped him again. She waited and was rewarded when she heard a loud shuddering breath inhaled into his lungs, assuring her that he was not dead, not yet at least.

Patrick coughed and choked, fighting to get air down his damaged throat, feeling sick and lightheaded. As his breathing became less laboured, he stared up at Katarina's leering face, horrified at the ease with which she allowed her man to attack him. His throat was on fire, his head pounding, his mouth parched. He knew this was going to go on all night, perhaps all tomorrow, and the day after that? If this was his future then he knew he could not go on. He physically did not have the resources to live through much more of this. He realized he was tired of all this and could not, would not submit to her. If he died she would have no need to kill Teresa and hurt their baby. He would not go easily but he knew he would be dead soon. Anguish filled his heart at the thought of all this, and he was finally, truly broken. He put his head down and wept quietly, large tears of regret falling down his cheeks and dripping off his chin. He closed his eyes, not wanting to look at his captors anymore, closing out the room and the dirt and the chains. Katarina was not moved, only disgusted at his lack of manliness, his lack of self-control. Her brother Jan would never blubber like a baby! He was everything a man should be! The love and respect she had for her brother far outweighed her ability to relate to any other man in the world. She looked at Jane in disappointment, his sobbing deeply angering her. If he was going to be her footsoldier he had better shape up!

She stepped up to him and screamed at him to stop. Just stop! She reached out in frustration and shoved his body with her hand and sent him rocking back and forth, his leg knocked out from underneath him, his body falling downwards, pulling against the chains holding him against the wall. His sobs turned to screams as his shoulders strained against his full weight, stressing and distorting the muscles and tendons beyond their capabilities.

"When you can speak to me in a civilized manner Mr. Jane, we will continue our discussion" she said with finality, and then turned to walk away. Jane lifted his head and croaked out a plea.

"Katarina, wait!"

She paused and rounded on her heel, coming back to her prisoner, eager to hear his abject apology.

"Yes Mr. Jane?" she said expectantly.

Patrick raised his head up and looked her in the eyes, a smile creasing his face.

"Here's what I won't do for you. I will never submit to you, and I will never help you break your brother out of prison. He will die there an old man, you delusional ugly bitch!" he grinned maniacally.

Katarina's face contorted in rage and she flew at him with her fists, pummelling his face and chest, until her man quietly stepped forward and gently pushed her aside. He nodded at her and then proceeded to beat Jane as Katarina stomped her way back across the room. Patrick only barely heard the upstairs door slam shut as the fists kept pounding into his body, and then all sound died.

XXXXXXXXXX

Cho's men were spaced out around the buildings, well out of sight and fully dressed all in black SWAT gear. Laila was waiting in a police car, a young officer detailed to watch her. Cho regretted that he could not take her handcuffs off yet, but he fully expected that any charges against her would soon be dropped. She sat in the back of the cruiser hoping to see Mr. Jane emerge from her Aunt's house safe and well. The young cop sat in the front seat, bored and pissed off that he was missing all the action with real FBI agents running around like ninjas. He kept himself amused by playing around with the on-board computer, and talking to his buddies over the radio. They were out driving around in the rain doing their rounds too, bored and looking forward to the end of their shifts.

Laila had her nose pressed up against the window of the back seat, trying to see what was going on, but the cruiser was parked too far away from the action. She sighed in frustration and leaned back, eyes closed. Time crawled by and she started to doze with nothing to distract her, and her bodyguard also daydreamed in boredom. Suddenly the driver's side door was yanked open and two beefy hands reached in and dragged the unprepared young officer out of the cruiser. Grey man #1 had seen the police car and his prize, the jewel he sought - Laila - sitting in the backseat. All he had to do was wait for the cop to stop paying attention and grab the girl. The cop was thrown on the ground and pistol whipped with the grey man's gun. The cop was out cold and the grey man yanked open the back door and pulled a kicking and screaming Laila swiftly out into the night. He manhandled her forward towards his van and told her to be quiet, aware that more cops were most likely close by. Laila's hands were cuffed behind her and she stumbled as he pushed her forward every few steps. She fell at one point and he took out his gun and told her to get up and be quick about it. She got up and saw him look behind himself, checking to see if the cop was still out cold.

Laila knew this was her only chance to run, and she took it, darting away from the man and heading for the trees ahead of her. The grey man swiftly followed in pursuit, terrified he would not be able to keep up with a young fit woman. He couldn't lose her again! Laila burst into a clearing and started to scream, knowing that Cho and all his men were very very close by. If they could intercept the grey man Laila would be safe. Laila screamed at the top of her lungs and the SWAT team heard it, confused. Suddenly Laila bolted into the farm yard pursued by a man in a grey suit. Cho saw the man stop and raise his gun, taking aim at Laila. Shouting a warning at Laila to get down, Cho pulled his gun and took aim at the man. The blast from the handgun seemed like a cannon going off in the silence of the countryside. Cho raced forward to the crumpled body on the ground. He recoiled in shock when he knelt down and saw the small hands cuffed behind the still body. Laila had been shot in the back. Looking around, Cho saw another body close by. The grey man lay in a pool of blood, felled by Cho's bullet. He gurgled and spewed blood from his mouth and his gut, as he breathed his last. Cho was horrified seeing Laila on the ground, bleeding profusely. After everything she had done to escape, there was a possibility that Laila might not survive her ordeal. He quickly gathered Laila up into his arms and raced over to his men, handing her off to an officer for transport to a hospital. Everything was hurtling out of control. Did anyone in the farmhouse hear the gunshots? Had they lost the element of surprise? Cho had to pull himself together and, for now, put Laila out of his mind. He took a deep breath and then whispered commands into the headpieces of the waiting men and the decision was made.

The raid was on.

XXXXXXXX

 **Laila came so close to being free. She thought she had made it but the grey man never gave up looking for her. Did Katarina and her man hear the shots ring out? Stay tuned!**


	20. A Brother's Love

**The SWAT team is ready to go and Cho is sure that Patrick is very close by. He can't afford to think about Laila, he would have to deal with that tragedy later. But first, it was time to finally confront Katarina Nemic!**

 **Disclaimer: The Mentalist is wonderful, exciting and still not mine.**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 20 A Brother's Love

The air ambulance landed in a field to meet the waiting SWAT vehicle containing Laila Kovac's damaged body. She had not awakened since being shot. The officer with her had removed her handcuffs and had kept her alive with his emergency medical training. Being ex-military like Cho, he knew how to keep her going until help arrived. As her small body was loaded into the helicopter, he jumped back into his vehicle and raced back to the farmhouse to join the raid in progress.

XXXXXX

Katarina had ascended the basement stairs wondering what to do with the recalcitrant Mr. Jane. Torturing him had certainly weakened his body, but his damned spirit kept rising up, loosening his sarcastic tongue and refusing her demands. She had beaten him and frozen him, hung him up like a side of beef, and starved him. What did it take for him to simply say yes, I'm your man? She would not expect a man of his education and refined sensibilities to wear a cheap grey suit and act like her other drones. No, he would be her special operative. Why didn't he understand that yet? She stepped into the hall and headed for the kitchen. She spied a tray of mixed cheese and grapes sitting on the gleaming kitchen counter. A new idea formed in her mind. She took the tray of cheese and poured a large splash of wine into a crystal goblet. Maybe a special treat would go a long way towards softening up Mr. Jane. She had not let him eat anything since she took him earlier that week, so perhaps it was time to revisit that decision. Could food win him over? Smiling to herself she turned back to the door in the wall and descended with the wine and food offering in her hands.

Crossing the small room quickly she stepped down into the larger room to find her grey man sitting at the dining room table reading a paperback novel. He quickly stood up and put down his book. She glared at him then turned to examine her prisoner. Patrick hung lifelessly from his chains, his wrists cut and gouged by the sharp metal restraints. His head rested heavily on his chest and dripped blood from his nose, mouth and cheeks. The grey man had beaten him just enough to punish him for his bad attitude, but not enough to kill him. He knew what Katarina wanted, and so he had managed to kept Jane alive, barely.

Katarina dismissed her man and he took his book and left the room, pleased that his long day had come to a fruitful end with a happy, crazy mistress back in control.

He headed up the basement stairs, taking them two at a time, his ipod switched on and earbuds firmly screwed into his ears, humming as he went. He only heard the music and forgot about what Katarina might do to Mr. Jane when he left. He reached for the handle and pushed the door open, on his way to his bed for the night. What he saw on the other side of the door would change his life forever.

XXXXXXX

Cho had sent some of his men to the barn to check for any armed resistance there, and the same for the building behind the house where Laila had said Patrick was tortured. Soon his headset crackled with news that no one had been found at those locations. Now he could focus his attention on the house itself, where Katarina, Patrick and God knew how many defenders with guns were inside, unaware of the approaching chaos. Signalling with his hand, Cho sent one group of his men around the back of the house to ram the back door open at his signal. The next group went to the far side of the house to stop anyone who got out of the house and tried to make a run for the trees on that side once the shooting started. The third group came with Cho and crept up the front steps silently, forming a semi-circle around the front door, battering ram at the ready. Cho signalled a countdown which was passed to the other two waiting groups that they would attack in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Go!

The large battering ram smashed through the wooden door, ripping it off its' aging hinges and the men in black streamed into the house, front and back, silently going from room to room searching for any resistance. As one team raced up the staircase to check all the bedrooms, Cho and his team quickly ran to the living room finding no one. They then raced down the hall and ran into the dining room, while the other team had bashed in the back door and was checking every corner of the large laundry/kitchen area. So far, no one had tried to fire upon the well prepared SWAT agents.

Cho met up with his agents by the kitchen leading to the hallway when a small door set into the wooden wall opened up and a large man in a cheap grey suit emerged, humming a song and fiddling with his ipod. When he raised his head, he looked into the masked and helmeted faces of large black-uniformed SWAT agents, all pointing their guns at him. Cho put his finger to his lips indicating for the man to remain silent. Firm hands grasped his arms and cuffed him immediately while he was gagged to prevent alerting anyone else in the house. Two agents carried the stunned grey man out without a sound, through the front door and into a waiting SWAT van. He had been captured and subdued in seconds. Cho and his team had no idea how many more men were waiting for them downstairs, the only place they had not yet searched. They quietly opened the door wider and one by one they crept down the stairs, guns at the ready and creeping as stealthily as possible to avoid detection. They made their way across the dirt floor of the first room and paused, seeing a room beyond this one through a doorway set into the wall ahead of them.

Cho signalled his men silently to team up and follow his lead, each group going in a different direction into the room to cover every corner and blind spot. On his go, Cho silently crept through the doorway followed by his men and scanned the semi-dark room, lit only by a small light on the far side of the room. What he saw made him stop dead in his tracks, re-evaluating his rescue mission. At the end wall of the room hung his friend Patrick Jane, suspended by his wrists by chains bolted to the wall, looking dead from Cho's perspective. Standing in front of him was Katarina Nemic, waving a sharp paring knife in her hand as she held up a piece of cheese under Patrick's mouth.

"Mr. Jane, stop being so stubborn, just eat something. You've held out a long time. Bravo! You should be proud of yourself. You've proven your mettle to me and yourself, but it is time to stop all this delaying. I think you and I have to come to an agreement sooner or later. Stop all this stubbornness and eat what I offer you."

She lifted the sharp small knife up and waved it past the soft skin of his throat. "This knife can cut your breath out as quickly as slice through this cheese Patrick."

She seemed completely unaware that Patrick could no longer hear her, his mind shut down by blows to the head. Frustrated by his unresponsiveness, Katarina dropped the cheese and lifted Patrick's bloodied head up by his hair and pressed the sharp blade under his chin.

"Do what I say Mr. Jane or you will never eat or speak again…" she warned him, placing the blade against his skin and applying pressure. A tiny trickle of blood emerged along the knife's edge as he remained motionless. Katarina screamed at his assumed indifference and turned around to grab the glass of wine when she suddenly found herself staring into silent faces of the SWAT team all around her. Still holding the knife in her hand, she stepped back and placed it against Jane's chest, just under his heart.

"Get out! All of you! Get out!" she raved, shaking and frothing as she screamed at the stoic men in black. "How dare you come into my house without an invitation!"

"Katarina, it's over. Put the knife down and step away from Mr. Jane" said Cho gently. He was dealing with someone so mentally deranged he could not predict what she would do under this pressure.

"It's not over!" she yelled at Cho. "You don't understand! Patrick and I are working together, he said so, he wants to…. he's my man now…" she shouted to the assembled agents.

"And what is Patrick going to do for you Katarina?" asked Cho soothingly, trying to defuse her anger.

"Patrick is going to break my brother Jan out of prison, aren't you Patrick?" she said, without taking her eyes off the SWAT team and keeping the knife pressing into Jane's chest wall.

Cho had to think fast, think how to please a delusional woman with a knife prepared to kill his friend right in front of his eyes. None of his men could risk taking a shot, not yet. Cho had an idea, but it would work only if his men understood without explanation what he was going to do next.

"Katarina, it's done. You can let Patrick go now. We brought Jan with us. He's upstairs right now waiting for you Katarina!" he promised.

Katarina's eyes glistened with the possibility that her brother was so close, waiting for her! He had come for her at last! She looked at Cho and was thinking hard, thinking about Jan, thinking about Jane and all these strange men in her house…. this wasn't right… they weren't her friends…

No! This didn't feel right. It was a trap! Patrick was the only man to get Jan out of jail.

"You're lying!" she called back to Cho, as his men took tiny steps closer and closer to Katarina and Patrick. "Jan is not here! If he is here, tell him to talk to me, then I will know it's true!" she demanded sensibly.

Cho had to diffuse her suspicion, as she was clearly ramping up emotionally and was nowhere near reality now.

"I'll tell my men to bring him down Katarina. Okay? He'll be here soon."

That seemed to calm her a bit, but she still pressed the knife sharply into Patrick's skin.

"Where's Laila?" asked Katarina, remembering her missing niece.

"What about Laila Ms. Nemic? She's on her way too, we found her outside looking for you. She ran away. Why would she do that? Wouldn't she listen to your good advice?" Cho stalled.

"I am her Aunt! Her AUNT! She should be grateful that I wanted to take her back into the family business. But she's just like her mother. Her mother was an ungrateful, stupid village girl who never appreciated what Jan did for her" she said, now raving about a time long ago.

"Marta could have had a good life with Jan, but she was never happy, never. She took Jan's daughter to the States and thought she could just walk away from her responsibilities. She should never have done that. That was disrespectful. I had to teach her to respect my brother and the family."

Cho continued to engage her in her fantasies and see if she would come down from her psychotic episode without hurting Patrick with the knife.

"What did you do about that Katarina? How did you teach Marta a lesson?" he asked.

"I went to her and told her she had to give Laila to me. I would take the girl back to Slovakia with me and raise her the right way in the family. But Marta wouldn't agree. Can you imagine? Turning down an offer like that?" she snorted with derision.

"That was a good offer. When she turned you down, what did you do Katarina? What lesson did you teach her?" Cho urged her to continue, to distract her.

"I had no choice. I had to kill her, to teach her to obey! She would never listen, so I made her listen! If that bitch Laila had been there that day I would have killed her too, to make all my problems go away!" admitted Katarina.

This is not what Cho thought Katarina would tell them. For the last 5 years poor Laila had thought that her father had killed her mother. It had been Katarina, all those years ago. No wonder she needed to get Laila to go back to Slovakia with her, to watch her and kill her if need be.

"Where's Jan, he should be here by now!" shouted Katarina.

Cho put his hands up in a submissive gesture and started to walk backwards towards door.

"I'll tell him to talk to you Katarina, just wait a minute" he suggested calmly. He took a few steps to the doorway and signalled to one of his agents standing back in the second small room. He knew this agent spoke the same language as Katarina, and now, he would have to pretend to be Jan. Cho whispered to him to talk Katarina into dropping the knife and to come to him, that the agents would let her go if she just dropped the knife. It was a long shot but they had no other choices open to them now. The agent nodded in understanding and approached the door, standing just out of sight of Katarina.

Cho walked back into the room and motioned for his agents to lower their weapons.

"Katarina, Jan is just outside the room. What do you want to tell him?"

Katarina's eyes slid over to the doorway and hope flickered in her face, expecting him to walk in at any moment. Patrick shuddered behind her and stirred, moving his head and disturbing the knife as it pressed into his flesh.

"Katarina!" called the agent, hoping his voice sounded like her brother's voice.

"Katarina, my beauty! What are you doing here in this house? What happened to my other house?" he asked, triggering a conversation.

"Jan! Jan I had to sell it! I needed the money and you were so far away! Don't be mad at me! This house is so much better! Look who is here Jan! Patrick Jane. He put you away, and now you can kill him if you like, I won't mind!" she called out to him.

"I don't want to kill him, he will be dead soon enough. Come to me Katarina, come back home to Europe with me and help me start our business again!" the fake Jan suggested.

Katarina was thrilled to be back in his good graces and was falling under the spell of his voice. An agent shifted his foot and Katarina looked around the room, seeing the SWAT team for what it was suddenly.

"I can't Jan, I can't. These men will stop me. Come for me Jan!" she called out.

Cho didn't know what was being said, but he knew Katarina was afraid of the SWAT team and the threat they implied. He stepped forward, his hands up in the air. "Katarina, we will all step back and put our weapons on the ground so you can go to your brother. We just want Mr. Jane back, and you can leave with your brother. Drop the knife and go to him now."

Katarina swung her attention back to Cho and seethed at his command.

"I am Katarina Nemic, you don't tell me what to do, I tell you what to do! I run a world wide empire and lead an army of loyal footsoldiers!" she warned him as she gripped the knife ever tighter. Jane shifted his weight against the chains that held him and moaned loudly, scaring both Katarina and Cho.

'Sorry Ms. Nemic, I know you have a lot of power. I meant no disrespect!" grovelled Cho. His men were getting closer to Katarina, as he was too. Her eyes roamed from face to face and didn't know where to settle.

"Katarina! What are you doing in there! I told you to come to me. Do it or I leave without you. Make up your mind before it is too late!" yelled her 'brother', pushing her to make a decision. Cho put his weapon on the ground with a big show of submission, as did all the other SWAT team members, who then also raised their hands. Jane swayed in his chains and cried out in pain, beginning to emerge from his unconscious state. Katarina ignored him, now that he was worthless to her and she took a step towards the door. No one moved, no one spoke a word… waiting and watching as her indecision seemed to evaporate. She took another few steps forward, right past the hulking silent agents, who dared not move an inch. Katarina stepped past the dining room table, clutching the knife in her hand like a talisman, inching her way closer and closer to the doorway and her brother.

"Kat, hurry up, I have to go now!" urged the voice in the other room. She moved a bit faster, her face lighting up in the anticipation of a happy reunion with her beloved brother. She approached Cho who betrayed no emotion in his face. He did not reach out for her, instead keeping his hands raised above his head in submission like his team in the room. She had beaten them all she thought! She had actually beaten all of these stupid men at their own game with just a tiny paring knife. Her grin grew bigger and bigger as her excitement grew. Just a few steps more and she would be through the door and in the arms of Jan! She turned and hurried over to the door and sprang through…

"Jan! I'm here!" she announced as her feet hit the dirt on the other side of the door. Immediately large hands grappled her to the ground, as a foot knocked the knife out of her hands. She kicked and screamed like a wild animal, for that was what she had become in the end. Several large men wrestled her to her stomach as her hands were zip tied very tightly behind her back. She was not given the opportunity to walk up the stairs, but had her ankles zip tied together as well and then she was hoisted up by two men who carried her up the stairs and out into the night and the waiting van.

Cho and his team raced over to Jane and tried to set him free. His chains were padlocked around his wrists and they could not open them. An agent ran back upstairs to search the grey man and Katarina to find the key they so urgently needed. Cho lifted Jane's head gently as another agent radioed for a chopper to come in with a full trauma team onboard. Patrick's eyes rolled back into his head as Cho tried to rouse him. He was bleeding profusely all over his body and head, his leg looking sickening as it twisted grotesquely to the side. Cho was trying his best to hide his true feelings at the moment but he was dangerously close to losing it, seeing his friend hanging there dying in front of him.

"Where's the God damned key?" he yelled to no one in particular. The agent who had run upstairs thundered down the steps and raced into the room, holding out the small key that Katarina had hidden in her pocket. Cho worked feverishly to unlock the chains and one hand was freed, dropping limply out of the restraint and down Patrick's side. An agent came up and held onto Patrick's body as Cho released the second set of chains, and Patrick slumped leadenly into the agent's arms. He carried Patrick over to the table and laid him out along its' length. Cho listened for the chopper, feeling the passage of every second as if it was an hour. Jane was ashen and clammy, his pulse weak and failing, his blood pressure falling with every heartbeat. Cho checked his eyes and they were unresponsive. There was nothing he could do in this dreadful basement and he gently picked his friend up over his shoulder and carried him across the room, and up the stairs, his powerful and compact body easily carrying this special burden. The team made way for their boss as he carried Jane out of the front door and across the yard to the waiting helicopter churning its' blades in the field across the road. A team of trauma specialists were waiting for Jane and within moments, the chopper was airborne, heading for an ICU and the life giving care he now needed.

Cho stood panting from his exertions, suddenly exhausted from the expenditure of adrenaline and stress. He watched the chopper fly into the night sky and shook his head, trying to clear it. His night was far from over, much work still to be done, but he had a call to make. This wasn't going to be the call Lisbon had been waiting for.

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 **Ugh…. poor Jane! Will he he get to the hospital in time? And what terrible news Cho will have to tell Lisbon over the phone. She is so far away and unable to help her husband. Stay tuned, more to come.**

 **Thank you for your continued interest! Your reviews are like water to a thirsty man!**


	21. Heartache

**Thank you my wonderful regulars for all of your kind reviews, and to the Guest reviewer, thank you very much! Glad you are enjoying it!**

 **Disclaimer: The Mentalist belongs to Bruno Heller.**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 21 Heartache

Cho turned back towards the farm, which was now crawling with police and forensic techs, all gathering evidence to use against Katarina and the man they had captured in the house. Until Jane or Laila recovered and gave their testimony, if ever, then the physical evidence would have to be enough to convict the two criminals of kidnapping, assault, torture, intimidation and anything else the FBI could throw at them. Katarina would also be charged with the murder of Marta Kovac, a crime she had admitted in front of a roomful of FBI agents.

Cho sat in his SUV for privacy and pulled out his cell phone, dreading this call, knowing who was eagerly waiting for it on the other end of the line.

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Teresa was standing in the kitchen chatting with Sarah, the young female agent who had been assigned to watch over her. The young agent was tough, intelligent and dedicated to her job at the agency, but Teresa had seen the soft side of the woman this evening, as she spoke with Teresa and kept her spirits up. Sarah had the skills necessary to do the tough job of an agent, and the warm heart to care about the victims she encountered along the way. Teresa found herself drawn to this young woman, realizing that after all this was over, she just may have made a new friend. The cell phone on the coffee table sprang to life, ringing plaintively. Teresa stopped talking mid-sentence and rushed into the living room, closely followed by the other woman. Picking up on the third ring, Teresa was breathless when she answered, just one question on her tongue.

"Cho! Did you find him?"

Cho took a deep breath, and plunged in, holding nothing back.

"We found him Teresa. We have Katarina and one of her goons in custody, with another one of her men dead. We have Laila too, but she has been shot and is on her way to a hospital."

"Oh God Laila! And Patrick, is he OK then? Can I speak to him Cho?"

Cho paused, thinking how best to tell her the news.

"Teresa, listen to me OK? Is someone with you right now?" asked Cho carefully, knowing his next words could be too much for Lisbon to bear.

'Yes, I have a young woman from the FBI with me Cho - why? What is it? Cho you're scaring me…"

"Teresa, we found Patrick in Katarina's basement. She had been torturing him for days, and he is in bad shape. I won't lie to you Teresa, he might not make it."

Cho could hear Teresa's strangled gasp through the phone at the harrowing news, and knew she was going to suffer greatly, but he had to go on.

"We got him out of there and onto a chopper with a full trauma team onboard. They are on their way to a hospital right now, and he is receiving the best care possible."

"Is he… will he … die?" whispered Teresa shakily.

"Everything is being done to keep him alive Teresa."

"I need to come there, right now, tonight Cho! I need to be with Patrick!" she choked out.

"Teresa, I know you want to be with him, and I understand that, but you can't fly so close to the birth of your baby! I don't think any doctor would allow it…" he began, before Lisbon cut him off.

"Cho! I have to go to Patrick. … be with him until…... tell him I love him…. tell him to stay strong and come home to me and our baby… If he doesn't make it…...I need to be there…...

oh God!... to say goodbye….. Cho….. please…" she cried in anguish, her bodyguard embracing her in a hug as she wept.

Cho's mind was racing feverishly at this terrible dilemma. A solution was out there, he just needed to grab it.

"Listen Teresa, I will speak to the doctor at FBI headquarters in Austin. If he is able to accompany you on one of our jets, along with a nurse, then come and come fast. If you have any health issues, any at all, he will be instructed to tell the pilot to land and take you to the nearest hospital. Got that?"

"Yes, got it. Thank you Cho, thank you."

"Be ready when I call Lisbon, it won't be long. Talk to you when you get here."

Lisbon ended the call and slumped into the arms of her new friend, and let the tears finally pour out, pushed out by fear and heartache of the worst kind. She had to be there for whatever happened to her husband, and if it was her last chance to tell him she loved him… she couldn't bear the thought.

20 minutes later Teresa was on her way to the airport and the jet that would speed her to Cho and her husband, wherever he was.

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Laila was on the ground now and surrounded by a trauma team at a hospital close by. Word had come in to the agent in charge of her that she was no longer considered a suspect, but was in fact a victim. She had not awakened on the trip to the hospital but now was coming to, moaning and crying out in pain, the bullet burning in her upper back. The doctors were working quickly to stabilise her for x-rays, to determine if there were bullet fragments pressing on any vital structures. She had lost a lot of blood and now was being transfused and given fluids to help prevent shock. A portable x-ray unit was rolled into the ER room and quickly showed that the bullet had missed her spine by millimetres. There would be no paralysis! As her stats came up and she was prepped for surgery, she managed a terrified look at the room full of doctors with confused questions fighting to the surface of her mind. Where was she and how did she get here, and where was Mr. Jane? As she tried to voice her concerns, invisible hands added a sedative to her IV line and she drifted off into a dreamless sleep, her questions a distant memory.

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The second chopper raced across the sky with Patrick strapped to a portable gurney. The trauma surgeon and his small team cut his clothes off him to determine the extent of his injuries. They had placed Jane's head in a cervical collar in case of spinal damage, and shone a bright light into his eyes, checking for concussion or worse. The poor ocular response to light told them that their patient did indeed suffer a brain injury and would have to be closely monitored. His face was covered with lacerations and contusions, his mouth and nose filled with dried blood. Patrick's jaw was swollen and out of place, most likely broken from a blow to the face. A large oxygen mask covered his nose and mouth, forcing life giving air into his lungs. Checking his body, blue and purple bruises up and down the sides of his chest and across his abdomen indicated more blows to his midsection. Prodding gently with his fingers, the doctor detected movement in his ribs, suggesting some of them were broken as well. X-rays once they landed would show whether there were internal injuries in the belly. One of the nurses lifted Jane's arms up and checked for damage, noting the torn skin at the wrists, and new and old blood streaking up his arms towards the elbows. It looked as if the patient had been hung by his wrists for quite a long time…

Checking his body further, the doctor found Patrick's broken knee was horribly swollen, hot and red. They packed it in ice and placed it in a brace to immobilize it until an orthopedic surgeon could operate on it. Patrick was pale and clammy, his heart rate speeding up as time went by, but his blood pressure was dropping dangerously low. The doctor checked his mouth and pinched his skin. His mouth was as dry as cloth and when pinched, Patrick's skin retained the ridge where the doctor had grasped it. This was severe dehydration. An IV line was started and fluids were pumped into Jane to infuse him with the necessary salts and electrolytes that his dying body needed to fight back. Patrick was completely unresponsive and failing fast. The monitors attached to his chest beeped irregularly as his heart fought to keep pumping blood through his dry veins.

Ten minutes into the flight, Jane's heart stopped. A flurry of activity erupted around his still body, hands moving in a dance of life attaching leads, throwing switches and placing paddles against his chest, forcing electricity through his heart. The flat line on the cardiac monitor sputtered and changed … beep … beep … beep…the needle drawing the peaks and valleys of a sinus rhythm the doctor needed to see on the screen.

And then his heart stopped once more. The paddles came out again, placed under and above Jane's dead heart and another, stronger surge of electricity jolted him as his body lifted off the gurney in shock. All eyes turned to the monitor as the pattern of cardiac activity now showed up as a flat line, scrolling silently across the tiny screen.

"Dammit... " muttered the trauma surgeon as he worked to save this man who had so clearly been through hell. "Come back you sonofabitch!" he yelled at Jane's lifeless face. The nurse readied the paddles one more time and looked at the doctor for the approval to try one more time. The doctor would not give up until it was abundantly clear that his patient was beyond help. "Go!" he shouted and the paddles hit Patrick's chest one last time. The jolt was greater again and Patrick's chest lifted forcefully off the table, falling back with a thud. All eyes turned to the monitor, the medics praying and cursing in equal measure. The flat line sputtered and suddenly, started to form small waves, then sharper waves, then a high peak and a low valley, over and over again. Jane's heart was working again. The skin on his chest would soon show the signs of the desperate attempt to revive him, patterned with the scorch marks of life.

The team worked steadily on Jane as the chopper sliced through the night, landing 30 minutes later at a major trauma centre with the staff waiting on the roof ready to receive their patient. In a matter of moments after the helicopter doors slid open, Jane and his medical team were racing into the hospital and down an elevator to a larger team waiting, ready to save this life. Patrick was ushered into an examining room and hooked up to more and larger monitors as cardiac and internal medicine specialists took over his care. A neurologist was on his way to assess his brain injury and if need be, operate. X-rays were ordered and more IV solutions flooded his veins in an attempt to undo the damage severe dehydration and starvation had wrought on his body. The x-rays did indeed show fractured and broken ribs, the pain of which would have been intolerable if the patient was hanging by his arms. The doctor shook his head at the inhumanity of this man's torment. The brain scan also showed a significant concussion, probably a day old but exacerbated by a more recent beating about the head. The knee injury needed surgery, but they did not dare put Jane under anaesthetic at the moment unless absolutely necessary. He was not strong enough to survive the trauma of surgery and so the knee would have to wait. After doing as much as they could, Jane was sent to the ICU, in critical condition. Any one of his many injuries could push him over the edge, but all of them together left him no wiggle room for further setbacks. The next 24-48 hours would determine if he pulled through and thrived, or succumbed to his injuries.

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Lisbon arrived at the small airport close to the city centre where the hospital was located. Jane had been at the hospital for hours now and the time spent flying to him had been the worst hours of Teresa's life. The doctor on board had kept a close eye on her and her blood pressure, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible, but still following Cho's orders to stop the flight if necessary. Sarah, the bodyguard, also came with Teresa and held her hand all the way there. Once the jet was on the ground Cho ran up the steps and escorted Teresa and her guard to a waiting SUV. The trip to the hospital was mercifully short and finally, finally, Teresa was taken to her husband in the ICU. She wanted to run into his room immediately, but the doctor on duty stopped her, knowing that she would need to be prepared for what she would see.

Taking Teresa aside, he spoke to her calmly but firmly, needing her to focus on his words. Cho stood nearby, ready to help if need be. The doctor began gently.

"Mrs. Jane, I'm Dr. Potter, and I am taking care of your husband tonight. He has sustained significant injuries and is in critical condition."

Teresa nodded numbly, hoping to hear something good.

"I want you to be prepared for what you will see in there. Your husband will not look like the man you know. His face is swollen, he is bruised all over and heavily sedated. He will not know you are there, but speak to him anyway, as if he could hear you. Your husband has broken ribs, a broken jaw and knee, multiple bruises and contusions to his entire body, a severe concussion and is suffering from dehydration and starvation. He suffered 2 cardiac arrests on his way to the hospital, so we are also watching his heart for further complications."

Teresa was overwhelmed by this litany of injuries, her breath stopping in her throat when she heard the words 'cardiac arrest'. She gripped Cho's hand and felt weak in the knees.

"Will he survive?" she asked softly. The only thing that mattered was hearing a simple "yes".

The doctor took her elbow and guided her into Patrick's room, and whispered his answer.

"That's my plan Ma'am…" he smiled kindly before he left her with her husband.

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Cho hovered by the door, as worried about his friend Teresa as he was for Jane. Teresa walked quietly up to the still form in the bed, cautious around all of the wires, IV lines dripping lifesaving fluids and medicine into her husband's body, monitors and tubing. Most of Patrick was covered by a loose white sheet, but his arms were outside of it, resting on top of the mattress. She realized that he had lost a lot of weight in a very short time. His cheeks were sunken in his face, the outline of his cheekbones much sharper than usual. Teresa gently picked up Patrick's hand and noticed that both of his arms were heavily wrapped in gauze from just below his thumbs, to half way up to his elbows. What on earth? she wondered. Teresa leaned close and kissed Patrick softly on his forehead, the only spot on his face not covered in bandages or a large oxygen mask.

"I'm here Patrick. I'm OK and the baby is OK. I want you to rest and get well so we can go home together" Teresa said soothingly to him.

Teresa gazed into his face and saw no flicker of awareness, no understanding that he was finally safe and with his wife. His eyes were firmly shut, no movement taking place behind those heavy eyelids.

"Just sleep and rest my love and I will wait for you as long as it takes", she whispered, brushing a strand of limp muddy hair off of his forehead. Teresa moved her eyes farther down his body and watched his chest rise and fall steadily, assisted by the whissh whissh whissh of the air pushing into his lungs through his oxygen mask. Running her fingertips across his shoulder, she let them trail carefully across his chest, avoiding the leads that had been stuck on his chest around his heart, recording his every heartbeat. His entire body was black and blue, as if someone had used him for a punching bag… which they had…

Teresa was suddenly overcome with grief at the realization that each day that he was missing, Patrick had suffered mightily. The enormity of his suffering crushed her and broke her stoic resolve. Tears that she had withheld for so many days now cascaded from her eyes, a river of sadness and fear that she could not hold back another second. She put her head down on his shoulder and cried out, a deep guttural moan of anguish. She couldn't let him die. She needed him, had always needed him, long before he walked through her door so many years ago. She had thought that all obstacles and people opposed to their happiness had been removed, imprisoned or killed. And now, Patrick lay uncomprehendingly still, physically in her world, but dangerously close to being pulled over into another more eternal world, alone again.

Cho heard the unmistakeable sounds of Lisbon crying, so he dared to step into the room and quietly advanced, putting his hands around her shaking shoulders. She stayed where she was, but leaned into his strong arms for support, desperately needing his friendship at this moment. Cho looked past her at his friend Jane, and was disgusted at what he saw. The damage done to Jane was even more apparent now than it had been in that semi-dark basement. How that Nemic woman could have planned for this torture, imagined it even, and worse yet, have it carried out, made his skin crawl. If she was sane, he hoped she would suffer the fullest punishment the law would allow. If she was in fact insane, as her brother insisted, then he hoped she would be locked away so securely no power in this world would ever be able to set her free again. Cho said nothing as he stood behind Lisbon, his emotions too raw to let his voice give him away, so he stayed with her as she wept over her husband's frail body. Both of them prayed silently in their own ways, begging God to let Jane to stay with them and not follow the siren call of Death.

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Katarina Nemic had been taken kicking and screaming to the local FBI office and immediately placed in a holding cell for the night. At times wailing like a caged animal, and at other times gracious and regal in her dealings with the watching agents, she prowled her tiny cell as if it was a hotel room not quite up to her standards. She would be interviewed in the morning, hopefully by Cho if he had a say in it. At that time it would be decided if she was fit to be charged with a laundry list of crimes. If not, she would eventually be confined to an institution for the criminally insane. Her brother Jan just might get his wish. All the way to the holding cell, Katarina hurled abuse at her captors in the back of the SWAT van, clearly not able to comprehend her downfall and inability to issue orders to her minions anymore. She babbled on at length about her many grey men, out there carrying out her orders, even as she spoke, doing her dirty work. The SWAT team had no way of knowing how many men she did in fact have in her employ, so they contacted Cho and let him know that Laila, Teresa and Patrick might still be in danger. A guard was posted outside the room in the ICU where Jane lay, and another was downstairs at the entrance of the hospital, checking for anyone suspicious with no reason to be in the hospital. The same scenario was being repeated at the hospital across town where Laila was currently in surgery. She would also be guarded, just in case.

Cho had made all of the arrangements after he left Patrick's room and stood in the hall, keeping a watchful eye on Teresa in case she fell apart again. Fortunately Sarah, the female bodyguard, had come with Teresa on the jet, and so was re-tasked with guarding the upset mother-to-be. Eventually a nurse gently prodded Teresa to leave Patrick to rest, as it looked as if Teresa was on the point of collapse herself. Cho escorted her out of the ICU to the waiting FBI agent, and Sarah guided Teresa out of the hospital to take her to a safe house close to the hospital. Teresa sat in silence all the way to her hideaway, deep in thought. She clutched her cross and Patrick's old wedding ring in her hands, rubbing them for strength and comfort. She looked forward to being alone in her bedroom, where she would spend much needed time on her knees, praying for her husband to wake up.

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	22. Unfinished Business

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 **Disclaimer: I do not make any money writing Mentalist fan fiction**.

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 22 Unfinished Business

Morning came far too soon for Cho, who had been up for hours working after Teresa left the hospital the previous night. When he finally collapsed into his hotel bed, he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep, assured that everything that could be done had been done, both at the crime scene, and at the two hospitals holding the victims of Katarina's wrath. As his alarm jolted him awake, his mind began trolling through the endless tasks on his mental to-do list. First thing, check in with the doctors and find out how Jane and Laila had weathered the night, then visit the goon arrested at the farm and shake him down for information. He planned to visit Katarina too, not sure if she would even be able to understand just what had happened in the last 24 hours. By the time Cho emerged from his shower and ate breakfast in his room to get more work done alone in peace and quiet, he had a clearer idea of what he needed to find out from his prisoners. If they would talk.

XXXXXXXXX

Teresa spent a restless night tossing and turning in fear for her husband's life. He was receiving the best care possible, but so much was still beyond the control of the doctors. Jane himself had to have the will to live, to overcome whatever memories of his torment might be lingering in his subconscious. Sarah was already up when Teresa shuffled listlessly into the small kitchen in the safe house. The smell of a fresh pot of decaf coffee helped Lisbon get her eyes open and her mind awake. Sarah smiled kindly at her new friend, willing to do anything to make today a better day than last hellish 24 hours. A quick shower revived Teresa and then she and Sarah set off for the hospital. No one had called all night so Teresa took that as a good sign that Patrick's health had not declined.

The elevator doors slid open to a bustling ICU, nurses and orderlies busily catering to their charges. Lisbon looked for someone to tell her news about Patrick and was glad when a young doctor came over and announced herself. 'I'm Dr. Mishra, can I help you find someone?" she smiled. Teresa asked after Jane and the doctor consulted her notes.

"Mr. Jane had a good night. We kept him sedated for a variety of reasons, but he was comfortable and pain free. We will be doing more tests today to see how his concussion is coming along. For that he needs plenty of bedrest. He is receiving IV fluids and is being fed through a feeding tube for now. His knee is going to need to be looked at soon, but not until we are confident he can handle the surgery. So - that being said, how would you like to go in and see your husband?" she smiled, leading the way.

Teresa walked slowly behind the doctor, her hands absent-mindedly resting atop her large belly. The baby was very active these days, cramped in the tiny space left and clearly not happy about his accommodations. The doctor checked Patrick's chart on the laptop beside the bed, then stepped out of the way and let Teresa enter his room. Sarah stood guard outside the room, studying faces to remember who belonged. Her training took over once again.

The still form in the bed looked even worse this morning, if that was possible. Patrick's throat had black and blue fingermarks on it, clearly showing where someone's large hand had grasped it and squeezed the air out of Jane. Teresa had not noticed that last night, but she now understood another torment he had had to endure. The bruising on his body was becoming extreme now, dark and ugly, spreading like an oil slick in its' harsh pathway across his skin. It would eventually reach a peak and then start to fade into greens and yellows and dull dark patches in the days to come. She bent over and placed a very soft kiss on Patrick's forehead, and noticed his chest rise and fall, rise and fall, the rhythmic pattern reassuring - he was alive and breathing on his own. 'Thank you…' Teresa whispered to her God. She pulled up a chair and reached out for Patrick's hand, careful not to touch the wrapping on his wrist. She would have to ask what that was all about at some point. His face was very swollen and she remembered being told his jaw was broken. She was afraid to kiss his cheek, fearful to cause him pain. Would they wire his jaw shut? His voice was such a wonderful instrument, so beguiling and soothing, she knew she would miss hearing him speak if his jaws were sealed until he healed. She leaned in close and began to talk to him, lovingly and softly, telling Jane that he was loved, that he was missed and that his baby was impatient to meet his daddy. An idea occurred to her and she stood up, gently placing Jane's insensate hand on her belly, moving it around to find the spot where a little foot pushed out against her skin.

"That's our son Patrick! He wants to come out and meet you! Can you feel his foot? He's trying to play soccer!" she said to her sleeping husband. She stayed as long as she could, sharing her love and her faith in him, with the very real hope that somewhere in his sleepy haze, he would hear her and know that all would be well.

XXXXXXXXX

Cho had spoken with Laila's doctor and was thrilled to learn her surgery had been successful. The bullet had been removed and saved for forensic testing. She was in the ICU for observation, but it was felt that she would in time, make a full recovery. She would need months of therapy to get the damaged muscles and tendons in her back and shoulder working again, but she would survive. She had been an extremely lucky girl. He hoped to speak with her soon.

Before heading to the FBI office downtown, Cho drove over to the hospital to see Jane and check in on Lisbon. When he got there, Lisbon was in the hallway with Sarah, waiting to go back into his room for another quick visit. The rules were strict, and her time with her husband was always too short, but she was grateful for every minute spent with him. She broke into a wide smile as Cho approached and enveloped her in a big hug. Years ago he would never have been so demonstrative in his affections. But those days were gone, he loved these people and no longer hesitated to show it. Lisbon filled him in on the latest news before he said his goodbyes and set off to interrogate the man sitting in the holding cell, the minion of Katarina Nemic.

XXXXXXXX

In Austin, a man returned his rental car at the airport and waited in line to be processed by the TSA. He hated flying, only did it to please his boss, but the pay was good so he bit the bullet and flew wherever he was needed. His was a low-level job but he had every intention of moving up the ranks until he was the one, the only one, that his boss would rely on. The thought of it and the riches that position would bring made his hard mouth break into the tiniest of grins. His latest assignment had been easy enough, but it had suddenly ground to a halt, his subject unavailable for some reason. His partner had disappeared, the wuss. He was jumpy on the best of days, and was sure to blow any assignment he was given. Screw him! Let him sink or swim on his own. Calls to the boss had not been returned for days now, so, he figured it was time to leave and speak to the person in charge. Maybe a new assignment closer to home would come his way. Maybe a chance to get up close and personal with his targets. If that was the case, he would make the most of his time back on the farm in Maine….

XXXXXXXXX

The grey man was seething in a quiet rage. He had been carted out of Katarina's farmhouse like a bag of potatoes, bound hand and foot and gagged with a foul piece of cloth. The last 12 hours had been frustrating and boring, his cell chilly, small and hard on every surface. He couldn't sleep with all the other prisoners howling and swearing all night in their cells close by. He was still reeling at the swiftness of his capture. How the cops had found the farm was a mystery to him but if they had not captured Katarina, he was sure she would rain down fire on them to get him out of jail. He was deluded. If he had known that his mistress had also been captured and removed like garbage, his attitude would have been much more amenable to working with the Feds. But he would find out soon enough.

Two very large guards appeared and unlocked his cell, dragging him out before he had a chance to get his legs underneath himself. A short walk down a hallway and he was thrust onto a hard chair, his wrists handcuffed to the tabletop.

The door opened and a muscular, compact and ferocious looking Asian man came in, accompanied by another man, probably a Fed too from the looks of him he surmised. 'Shit what now? ….'

The Asian man seemed to be in charge and sat staring at his prisoner for a good long while before he flipped open a notebook and held a pen hovering over the blank page.

"I am Senior Agent Kimball Cho of the Austin FBI, this is Agent Sanderson of the Maine FBI head office. I think you realize the trouble you are in Sir" he began.

The man glared back at the agents, not bothering to respond.

"We have an extensive list of charges pending against you Miroslav" Cho said, surprising the man by using his first name. "Your fingerprints came back from Interpol. I appears that you have been a very busy boy in Europe. Extortion, assault, intimidation, break and enter, kidnapping, a suspicious murder charge pending, theft… the list goes on. That stops now. You have run out of luck. Tell us what you know about Katarina Nemic and her organization."

Miroslav sat up a bit straighter. They knew who he was, what he had done in Europe and they probably had Katarina. Shit…. how to use this to his advantage.

He thrust his chin up trying to look as unaffected by this information as he could, blustering being his natural fall-back behaviour.

"So, you know my name, congratulations Senior Agent. Not everything you read is true. You are misled by your European counterparts" he grinned, speaking in heavily accented English.

Cho ignored his comment and continued undaunted.

"You worked for Jan Nemic in Slovakia when he hired you to be his bodyguard." Cho said, reading from his notes. You grew up together and for a time went to school together. Times must have been hard for you back then. When Jan left and came back in a big American car you must have figured it was time to hitch your wagon to his and make an escape to the big city. How am I doing so far Miroslav?"

The prisoner traced his finger lazily across the surface of the metal table, startled that Cho had already researched his background. What the hell else did he know…

Cho studied his face and knew he could make him sweat.

"Jan gave you more and bigger assignments, and you moved up the food chain from bodyguard to hired thug, persuading anyone who stood in Jan's way to move on or give him what he wanted. A man like you could convince someone to step aside after a few good beatings. Then you went to Beirut with Mr. Nemic, and continued to do his more unsavoury jobs, you and a few others. Too bad when the FBI shut his operation down and he went to prison. That must have pissed you off Miroslav. Left you high and dry. No money coming in, no one to torture."

The prisoner looked at Cho with unbridled hostility. Did he know the rest?

"And then Katarina showed up."

Miroslav's head snapped up and he looked Cho in the eyes. He knew everything.

"Katarina was not about business was she Miroslav? She was about revenge. She didn't have her brothers' talents, but she paid well, and let you rough up the people she disliked. It wasn't a hard choice to make when she asked you to join her in America, to continue her work here."

Miroslav knew he was in a corner, unless Katarina had somehow ducked out of the house undetected. She was his only ally right now. Otherwise he would have to work with the Feds, and he didn't want to sink that low.

Cho put his pen to paper and began his questions.

"Miroslav, we have Katarina in a cell not far from here. She is never going to be free again, so if you think she is going to arrange your escape, try coming back to reality. How many men did she have working for her here in the States?"

Miroslav leaned back in his chair, his chest sinking in defeat. She was in jail. No one was in charge. He wasn't going anywhere. Dammit… Time to bluff.

"She has many many men, a large army. So many you can't count" he lied. Cho snorted his derision.

"That would be hard to believe, since her bank accounts are running low. No way to pay an army of idiots like you. So how many men did she bring here with her? She had you, and the man we killed in the yard outside the house last night. She had another man taking videos of Patrick Jane and his wife. That huge army is three people so far. Your math skills are sadly lacking Miroslav. Are there more men out there waiting to receive her orders?"

The man in front of Cho visibly blanched when he learned his counterpart had been killed. He had not seen the body when he was hustled out to the SWAT van.

"Maybe there is another, maybe there is not. Who am I to know what Katarina had planned? As you say, I am just a low-level employee" he sneered, pleased to stymie Cho's need for information.

Cho was certain there was another person or persons out there, if not it would have been easy for Miroslav to confirm it, as the info would not change his situation in the least. But by leaving the question unanswered, he could drive the FBI nuts looking for grey men everywhere.

"Were you with Ms. Nemic when she killed Marta Kovac?" Cho asked out of the blue.

The man smiled slightly, unaware he had given an answer without opening his mouth.

"Marta drove Katarina wild. She had left Jan and taken his child away from him, running to the States. Jan let it go, but Katarina could not. She was going to make Marta come back and bring Laila with her. We went to Marta's apartment. I stood outside keeping watch. The yelling went on for a long time. And then... it stopped" he said unemotionally.

"But Katarina didn't take Laila back to Slovakia with her like she planned. Why was that?" Cho continued.

"Laila was away on a school trip, would be gone until late that night. Katarina thought she would be there at the apartment that day and could easily be taken from her mother. Once Marta was dead, Katarina couldn't wait there for Laila to come home, so she left. Laila went into child care services and her Aunt lost her opportunity to take her away. She waited years for Laila, until she needed her to help take Mr. Jane."

"So why take Patrick Jane? Why not just use her men to break Jan Nemic out of prison herself? She was operating in anonymity, and if she had broken her brother out, chances of her getting caught were low. So why use Jane?" Cho prodded.

The grey man sat with his hands crossed in front of him, happy to see the Agent confused. Surely he could figure it out?

"Was it because you and your other lowlifes weren't smart enough to come up with a plan that would work? Did she give up using you and realize she needed someone with Jane's smarts to stage a prison break?" Cho said, hitting Miroslav's ego bang on. And he was right too.

"No! You have no idea what you are talking about! She needed revenge! How perfect would it be to force the man who caught Jan to then set him free? Don't you see the logic of it Agent?" he barked.

"Revenge is sweet, you're right. But Jane had the brains, you didn't. It was an easy choice for her" Cho deadpanned, making Miroslav smolder in anger.

Katarina had in fact told them to break out her brother, but none of them had the imagination to figure out a plan that would be foolproof. Then she had remembered Jane, and it all made sense. Take him, abuse him, break him, bend his will to hers, force him to set Jan free, then kill him. Perfection. She also realized that if she implicated her niece in the crime, the FBI would be searching for her too. Persuading her to run away back to Slovakia with her Aunt would be easy if the Feds were on Laila's trail. All of this had been her master plan and it had almost worked too. But Miroslav didn't know very much of any of this. He was just a drone.

"What did Kataria think Jan would do when she got him out of prison Miroslav? Did she think he would take her back into the family business and all would be forgiven? Did she even think that far ahead?"

Miroslav smiled wickedly at this question. Apparently this Agent knew about the bad blood between Jan and Katarina.

"Of course Jan would be thrilled to be free once again, and then he would lock his sister up in an even darker hole somewhere in Eastern Europe once they returned to Slovakia. Sad that Katarina didn't suspect that!" he laughed.

Her sick, obsessive love of her sibling had blinded Katarina to the possibility that her brother would not treat her with the kindness and respect she felt she had earned. Either way, Miroslav didn't care, with Katarina in a looney bin somewhere, he could go back to working for Jan and be back to the good life again. A real win-win situation. If it had worked.

"Miroslav, you need to understand that you are going to prison here in the United States for most of your remaining years, and if you ever get out, you will be deported back to Slovakia. Any information you can give us will go a long way towards shortening your sentence. It's your decision. Think about what you know and how badly you want to be free again. When you're ready to talk, call me."

Cho stood up and walked out of the room with his other agent, leaving Miroslav looking cocky and unaffected by the prospect of a lifetime in prison. When they left, his bravado faded and he felt very small and frightened. He had some thinking to do.

XXXXXXX


	23. Four Does Not An Army Make

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 **Disclaimer: Bruno Heller owns the Mentalist and I make no money writing these stories!**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 23 Four Does Not An Army Make

Laila was dozing lightly, the background noises of the busy ICU a confusing cacophony of chatter, clatter and moans. She couldn't quite figure out why her bedroom was so noisy and hoped whoever was making that racket would soon pipe down and let her sleep. She started to slip away to a restless sleep when cold fingers touched her wrist and pressed down.

'Go away….. let me sleep…' she thought hazily.

A moment later, large hands gently lifted her body up, rolled her over and examined her back, touching, probing, prodding, and 'OH GOD that hurt!' .

Laila's eyes snapped open and she found herself tipped over, staring down at a pair of bright white shoes, attached to legs that were wearing white pants. Those hands were still touching her. 'Stop it! Leave me alone!' she yelled in her mind.

"Stop!" she squeaked, her thoughts finally finding her voice. It was not quite the authoritative yell she was going for.

Her body was carefully rolled back onto the bed and Laila looked up into the smiling faces of a nurse and a doctor, both standing close to her bed. She had no idea why she would be in a hospital. The last thing she remembered was…. gone. The doctor stepped forward and shone a light into her questioning eyes and was happy with what he saw. No head trauma. His patient was doing well enough considering the large gunshot wound in her upper back.

"Good morning Laila! I am Dr. Garcy and you are in the ICU at Mercy General Hospital."

Before he could continue, Laila croaked out a question.

"Why?"

"Laila, do you remember anything about how you got here?" the doctor asked her gently. Laila shook her head 'no', and looked at the nurse for reassurance. 'Something really bad must have happened to me', she thought.

"You were shot in the back at a farm out in the country. You were running away from a man with a gun. Do you recall that?" he asked.

'A man with a gun, chasing me, running at night…' Laila's head spun at the news. But it seemed familiar somehow. She needed to think, needed to remember. Laila shook her head and had no clear memory of whatever happened.

"I'm not sure. I remember being scared. It was dark, and I think I was running to something, or someone. But I can't remember right now" she mumbled.

"Not to worry. You just woke up after surgery yesterday, so your memory will be fuzzy for a while. Just rest and see what comes back to you, OK?" Dr. Garcy assured her. At least she was responding reasonably, so he was pleased with her attempts to answer his questions.

He and the nurse left Laila alone. 'Someone shot me!' she realized more fully now, feeling the tightness of the stitches and the heavy bandages pushing painfully into her damaged shoulder. 'Someone wanted to kill me!' The thought stunned her. She gripped her sheets and pulled them up to her chin, reflexively trying to protect herself against an unknown threat. Laila gave all of her attention to thinking about how she got shot, what had happened, who was the man. After a time, Laila realized that she was scared of a truly dangerous person, an evil little man she vaguely remembered grabbing her hands and pulling her out of a car! She lay in the bed twisting the sheet between her hands as images and faces came and went in her mind, tiny snapshots of events and voices, shouts and commands. And the running, always running away from someone so close behind! And there was someone else with her. Someone she wanted to protect, running running along with her. None of it made any sense. Who else would have run away with her?

A new face burst to the forefront of Laila's mind. 'Katarina! Aunt Katarina! OH GOD! Where is she? Is she coming for me again?' The thought of her Aunt sent a shockwave of fear coursing through her tired body. A cold sweat broke out on Laila's forehead as memories rushed into her mind, her heart thudding rapidly in apprehension, a sense of dread overwhelming her. She needed to hide before the grey man found her! She could see his face now, hard and determined to harm her. He was getting closer and closer, she just knew it! And someone else was being pursued, a man. A good man that she trusted and feared would be caught too. She could almost make out his face in her mind. She was so sleepy, his face was just on the periphery of her memory. Her pulse rate raced, fueled by blind fear, until it triggered a monitor on her finger. An alarm rang somewhere and moments later the nurse who had just been in her room rushed back in, followed closely by the doctor. Both saw the panic in Laila's eyes and her flushed face, drenched in perspiration.

"I gotta get out of here! She's coming for us! Get me out of here before her men find us! She'll kill us this time!" Laila ranted, looking from the nurse to the doctor in terror, begging them to hide her. The doctor listened to her racing heart and checked her for a fever. Relieved that Laila was just having a panic attack and was not getting sicker, he ordered a sedative to relax her and let her rest. Apparently she had had a breakthrough! And she talked about "us". Who else was she afraid for? Dr. Garcy held Laila's hand while the nurse pushed the sedative through the IV tubing. He spoke consolingly to her, stroking her hand and telling her she was safe. He stayed with her until she drifted off to a dreamless, carefree sleep. Her memories were back. He needed to find that FBI agent and tell him the good news.

XXXXXXXX

Cho had an early lunch and checked reports coming in from the teams back at Katarina's farm. They had gathered evidence from inside the house and the back building, clearly indicating torture. Bloodstains in the basement cell and on the floor under the bloody chains were proof positive of Jane's harsh punishment at her hands. Clothes had been found in the cell, and he knew they were Jane's. Blood was also found in the barn and Patrick's DNA was in the small building behind the farm house. It appeared he had thrown up repeatedly while tied to a metal chair. If they got the chance to interview Patrick or Laila, they would find out just what Katarina's goons had done to Jane out there. It all sickened Cho. He had to choke his lunch down, his mistake being that he looked at the photo's of the torture rooms before he ate. Big mistake. His men were still at the farm, taking advantage of the sunlight to scour the property outside and secure whatever additional evidence they could find. Cho didn't want to miss so much as a button if it could be used against Katarina and her men. After calling his team out in the countryside, he turned his attention to Ms. Nemic. He had to get his head on straight before he sat down to interrogate her. This would be personal for him, and he had to be in control.

XXXXXXX

The domestic flight from Austin to the small airport in rural Maine had come in early and the grey man thankfully stepped through the doorway into the small airport, glad to have that dull flight behind him. He had not been in contact with any of Katarina's other henchmen for a couple of days now, and was concerned that something had gone down without his knowledge. Was he being cut out of the action? The thought of it made him do a slow burn. He knew being far away from Katarina in Austin could cut him off from her inner circle. He had to ingratiate himself with her all over again he feared. He picked up his luggage, rented a non-descript car and headed straight to the one place where all the answers could be found.

An hour later the grey man was pulling his car over to the side of a country road, puzzled by a crowd of people gathered together in little groups, chatting and pointing at something of interest. He walked over to the first group he encountered and looked across the road to Katarina's farm, aghast at what he saw. A bright yellow line of police tape completely encircled the property, sealing it off from all gawkers and reporters. FBI agents and local cops were crawling all over the land and outbuildings, their forensic teams busy inside the large mobile labs that sat parked in the laneway. The grey man truly didn't know what was going on so he sidled up to a group of women who were deeply enthralled by the excitement taking place in their sleepy little back country setting.

"What's going on over there?" he asked, using his best American accent. "Somebody die?"

The blue haired woman doing most of the gossiping was thrilled to have a new person to impress with her limited knowledge.

'Oh my yes! Isn't is just unbelievable? A crime right next door to our homes way out here! And the FBI is over there! Oh my goodness, it's just like out of a movie!"

"Wow!" the grey man enthused, happy to encourage her to talk as much as possible. "What happened?"

"Well from what I hear from my neighbour, he was out walking his dog last night you know, and he saw a helicopter land in the field right behind us! A helicopter, can you imagine? It was one of those life flight choppers they send when they need to get a patient into the hospital real quick. And then he saw a body lying in the laneway with a sheet over it! A dead body!" she repeated, horrified at the nearness of the crime.

"Who died? A neighbour?" the man asked, desperate to know more now. This would affect him directly.

"Oh well we don't really know, do we girls?" the blue haired gossiper admitted. "But after the first chopper took off, another one landed and took a man to the Trauma Centre downtown. My neighbour said an FBI agent carried the man out to the helicopter in his arms. Isn't that amazing? Must have been a victim don't you think?" she nodded her head, looking for agreement from her scandalized girlfriends.

"Anybody else taken away or were people just hurt out here?" the man nudged them to talk more.

"Oh I don't know. There was a woman living here but she never mingled with any of us, did she girls? A SWAT van took a couple of people away, arrested I guess. That's what my neighbour said anyway, you know, the guy with the dog" she babbled.

The grey man looked over at the house, now empty of its' mistress. A chill ran up his spine, a bad feeling that his world was crashing down around him and had been even before he left Austin. Could Katarina be in jail? Where were her other men? Where was Patrick Jane and the girl, Laila? Could the body in the laneway be one of them? The women next to him prattled on, repeating the same news over and over in new ways, but still as uniformed as she had been since that morning. The FBI was keeping a tight lid on what reporters released to the news on radio and TV.

He stepped away from the group of gawkers and made his way back to his car, flipping on the all-news radio station, desperate for more accurate information. After a few minutes wait, the top story was repeated in all its' breathless importance.

"Gunshots rang out in the peaceful night last evening in Beddington County. A large farm was the scene of a shootout between FBI agents and an unnamed assailant. The man was shot and killed at that location and a raid upon the farmhouse led to the rescue of a hostage imprisoned in the basement. There are unconfirmed reports that a young woman was also rescued from the property, possibly shot as well, but this cannot be confirmed. The FBI is not releasing the names of the victims or their current whereabouts. Two arrests were made on-scene, but the police are withholding the names of the suspects pending further investigation. Stay tuned for updates as they happen."

The grey man sat dazed by the news. A wounded girl, that was Laila. A hostage rescued, that was Jane. So who was dead in the laneway, shot by the FBI? Was it that asshole Miroslav? God he hoped so. That jerk thought he was so much better than all the others who worked for Katarina. A bullet through his brain would be perfect he thought. But it could have been Pavel. He wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer and it wouldn't be too surprising if he had done something stupid to get himself shot. It couldn't be Luka, he was still back in Austin videotaping Teresa Lisbon and sending the files via the internet to Katarina. No, it couldn't be Luka. So now it was just himself, Karil, and Luka, the only ones left. But Luka was in Texas and Karil was in Maine! If he could get to Jane and eliminate him Katarina would be eternally grateful. Hell, if she was in jail, maybe he could spring her from her cell and really be in her good graces! Karil's mind raced at all the opportunities for his own advancement. His day had started so badly, but now it reeked of possibilities. What was it that stupid farm woman had said? A male victim was airlifted to the Trauma Centre downtown. Another victim was flown elsewhere. Time to find out where Mr. Jane was.

XXXXXXXX

Katarina had spent the night alternately raving about the lousy hotel room she was staying in, and dozing. At other times she woke up and looked around her cell, completely aware that she had been arrested and was no longer calling the shots. Her periods of lucidity were coming and going with greater frequency these days and she had the vague feeling something was not quite right. Her self-awareness was low, and she didn't understand where huge chunks of time had gone between her lucid moments. She was getting worried about that. Two burly guards approached and unlocked her cell door, grabbing her and cuffing her hands and shackling her ankles. They were taking no chances with her. At the touch of their hands on her body, Katarina flew into a rage. How dare they touch her! Jan's sister should have been accorded more respect than to have strange men pawing at her! She gave them a tongue lashing, reminding them of her position and their rudeness. She demanded to be released immediately, all while being half walked, half dragged down a long hallway to a small room. She was forced against her will into a metal chair and then her hands were dragged onto the tabletop where they were handcuffed to a tall bar embedded into the surface on the table. She bucked and twisted, wrenching her hands up and down, trying to set herself free. Her screams could be heard all the way to the outer offices, where Cho and his men sat preparing for their encounter with her minutes from now. Cho did not relish dealing with a delusional woman, so he had to come up with a way to calm her down.

He spoke to a young officer and asked him to prepare a drink for him, then finished the last of his coffee and grabbed his notepad. He went to the interrogation room with a Slovak speaking agent, just in case Ms. Nemic refused to cooperate in English. When he entered, Katarina had worked herself up into a froth, her hair in disarray and her wrists chafed and red from her exertions to free herself. Cho and his other agent quietly sat down and waited until she calmed herself and stared right back at the two men.

"Ms. Nemic, I am Senior Agent Cho and this is my friend Agent Marek Tesar. Could I offer you a cup of tea? Would you like that, or would you prefer coffee?" he asked politely.

Katarina was impressed by this man's good upbringing and manners. At least he had some class, not like the other oafs who had manhandled her today. She regained her imperious demeanour and smiled back at Cho, ignoring Agent Tesar.

"Tea would be wonderful, thank you. Lemon, no sugar" she commanded, slipping away into her old persona.

The door opened and a metal mug of tea was brought in with a metal dish holding a slice of lemon. Cho squeezed the lemon into the tea under Katarina's watchful gaze and pushed the drink over to her. If she grasped it with two hands she could just manage to get a mouthful of the delicious brew. Cho waited until she had sipped her tea for a while and then she put it down, leaning back in her chair, in command of herself once more.

"So gentlemen, what can I do for you today?" she asked, holding court in what she thought was a grand room, entertaining these two handsome callers to her home.

Cho began carefully. "Ms. Nemic, we understand you have been very successful in carrying on your brother's business affairs now that he is in a Federal prison. We're very impressed. How have you managed to do that here in the United States?" he asked conversationally.

Katarina blushed with pride at the compliment paid to her by this dark-haired man. How kind of him to acknowledge her talents!

"Oh I can assure you, Jan's business endeavours are continuing in his absence. It runs in the family you know, talent I mean. He and I work so well together, he loves me so much and trusts me to continue his work in the Middle East and Slovakia."

"You must have many many men out there in the field working for you. Isn't that hard for you to keep track of?" Cho asked, hoping to find out just how many men she really employed.

Katarina laughed at that question, it was so naive of him to even think of it.

"No, it isn't difficult at all! I don't need a whole army of men, just 3 or 4 good men who can follow orders and do what they are told. If they don't, I get rid of them and find someone else who is glad to earn the money. Such simple foolish men. They are everywhere you know" she admitted with a broad smile.

'So, not an army but a few goons, thank you Katarina', thought Cho.

"Ms. Nemic, we've met one of your men, Miroslav. Impressive man, loyal to you. He was telling us about your problem with Marta Kovac. How did you handle her when she didn't want to come with you to Slovakia?" Cho asked, hoping to hear about the murder in her own words.

She smiled slightly and sighed, as if the memory of it pained her. She looked at Cho and seemed to trust him, such a nice young man. He should come and work for her! She would offer him a job today!

"You have to understand that Marta was always a problem. She fell in love with Jan when she was just a teenager. A stupid village girl not worthy of him! But Jan liked her for some reason and took her with him when we left home that summer. What a simple girl…. too bad she got pregnant with that useless child Laila. I should have taken the child and raised her my way. But Marta had the baby then nagged Jan to stay home, be a father, stop bringing other women around. Such a demanding woman!" she spat out, remembering that time so long ago.

"Marta ran away you know!" Katarina said conspiratorially, whispering the news to Cho and Marek. "Can you imagine how Jan felt about that? The bitch took his child and ran to the US! And he let her get away with that! I couldn't let her do that to my brother! I had to make her see how disrespectful she was being! "

"How did you do that Ms. Nemic?" Cho asked softly.

"I went there, to her sad little apartment in Austin and waited for her. She came in and surprise! there I was, sitting in her disgusting kitchen. She tried to throw me out. ME! No one throws me out of any place! I told her I had come for Laila and she should get her ready. But Laila was gone for the weekend, some stupid school trip. Marta told me to get the hell out and never come back, and she told me her brother was a vicious, depraved, son of a bitch and she hated him! No one speaks about Jan like that, especially not Marta. So, I had to hit her with a bookend that was on the countertop, to teach her some respect. She went down so easily. Just like that!" she motioned, snapping her fingers together.

"I should have done that years earlier and saved myself the trip to Austin. But just like that, she was no longer a problem I had to worry about. Laila didn't come back for a long time so I left without her. But I've got her now!" she smiled.

"About Laila. Did she come willingly with you to Maine? Does she want to be with you now?" Cho asked, knowing he was entering dangerous territory.

Katarina's smiling face turned stony, a flush of anger sweeping through her.

'That little bitch is just like her mother, won't do anything she is told. I went to her at her school and told her it was time to come with me back to Slovakia. She needed to stop wasting her time studying and join me in the family business. And you know what? She wanted to stay! Stay and study to be a nurse, or physical therapist or some other damned thing, completely useless if you ask me. I told her she had to do a small job for me and then we would go back to Europe. She wouldn't do it, no matter how often I told her to come. So, I discovered her little friend Mandy, such a nice simple girl. When I told Laila that Mandy would have a bad accident and not survive, Laila suddenly realized I meant business, finally!"

"Is that when you told Laila she had to help you kidnap Patrick Jane?"

A deep smile creased Katarina's face.

"Yes! What a perfect idea, to have Laila do the dirty work and I get Jane and her! Such a good idea don't you think?" she beamed.

"A wonderful idea Katarina. You got both of them at once." Cho deadpanned.

'But why Jane? Why take him?" Cho needed to hear the words from her own mouth, then he would have her. She was making sense and he was sure all of this would be admissible in a court of law.

"It had to be Jane. He needed to be punished for what he did to Jan. He is the reason Jan is in prison. His fault! He needed to pay. He needed to be taught a lesson for his meddling in our affairs. He needed to be broken down so I could remake him into the man I wanted. Then he was going to break Jan out of prison. Poetic justice don't you think?" she asked Cho, needing his affirmation of the rightness of her plan.

"Did you break him Ms. Nemic?" asked Cho, knowing the answer.

"Oh yes. I broke him. It took days and days, but I broke him. He tried to escape but Miroslav brought him back. We had to beat him for a good long time to teach him how wrong it was of him to leave me. I think he will do whatever I want now, once I leave here."

She looked around the room and seemed to come to a decision.

"I am just about done here. I have other appointments I must keep. Can you ask my driver to come around and pick me up?" she commanded Cho and Marek.

Cho nodded and then stood up, making his way to the door. He turned back to Katarina and fed her fantasy for now.

"I'll have your driver come as soon as possible. Talk to you later Katarina." And then he was gone.

Katarina sat back satisfied that she had spent an interesting half hour with a very nice man. Damn, she forgot to offer him a job….. oh well…. next time.

XXXXXXXXX


	24. Loving Hands

**Thank you to everyone who wrote reviews for the last chapter. Much appreciated!**

 **Disclaimer: Bruno Heller owns the Mentalist and I make no money writing these stories!**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 24 Loving Hands

Teresa and Sarah had forced down a somewhat lacklustre lunch in the hospital cafeteria, then made their way back up to the ICU. Sarah nodded a hello to the agent guarding Patrick's door, joining him in watching every face on that floor. Teresa had not seen Patrick open his eyes yet, and that was her dearest wish today. She stepped into his room and waited as Dr. Greenfeld attended to her husband. Patrick still wore the large oxygen mask on his face and had his eyes closed. The doctor was listening to his heart and lungs with his stethoscope, making sure that his lungs were clear and not acquiring a buildup of fluid. As he did, Patrick moved his head and shifted his hips, eliciting a moan of pain from him that brought Teresa quickly to his side.

"Is he waking up Doctor?" she asked, grasping Jane's hand.

"We are gradually decreasing his sedation, so yes, he is waking up bit by bit. As he does, he will start to feel the pain of his injuries, so we will increase his pain meds to make him comfortable. Let him know you are here, one of these times he will hear you" the doctor smiled. As he turned to go, Lisbon asked the question that had been on her mind since she first saw Jane.

"Why are his wrists wrapped up? What happened to his arms?"

The doctor turned back and looked kindly at Teresa, knowing this was going to cause her upset.

"He, ahh, your husband was severely mistreated Mrs. Jane, as you know. He spent days restrained by zip ties and chains around his wrists. It appears he was hanging by his wrists. The skin has been torn off and the soft tissue underneath is raw and bruised. We need to keep his wounds clean and dry to avoid infection."

Teresa's eyes travelled down to his arms and a shudder ran through her. Much of what her husband had suffered was still unknown to her, but this explained so much, an indication of his prolonged suffering. A tear formed in her eye and slid down her cheek at the thought of his pain filled days. She nodded her head at the news and sniffed away her tears. Another question nagged at her.

"I was told Patrick has a broken jaw. How bad is it? Will you have to wire it shut?" she asked fearfully. She desperately needed to hear his voice and speak to him.

Dr. Greenfeld stepped back to the bed and looked at Jane asleep against his pillows.

"Your husband has a fractured jaw, not completely broken as we first suspected. There are times when the only viable treatment option is to wire the jaw back together, and keep it wired for around 6 weeks. Fortunately Mr. Jane's jaw is only fractured. If he is gentle with his jaw and is careful eating and moving about, I am confident we can treat it with antibiotics to keep infection down, and he will soon be able to move his jaw normally. It will be very sore and tender but he should be able to communicate soon, albeit with difficulty."

Lisbon smiled at this small bit of good news. He would be able to talk to her, if not today, then soon. She thanked the doctor and let him get on with his rounds, then she turned her full attention back to Patrick. She ran her fingers through his hair and tiny bits of dried grass and twigs fell out onto the pillow. He needed to get his hair washed she thought. That would have to wait until he could sit up. She wondered how he had gotten so dirty. She caressed his chest with her hands, rubbing him gently, avoiding his cardiac leads. As she massaged his chest, he moaned softly and blinked his eyes. Did he like that? Could he feel her warm hands on his skin? She went around to the other side of the bed and lifted the sheet up over his good left leg, and proceeded to massage it too. Again the soft moan of pleasure escaped his mouth. He could feel it! A thrill raced through Teresa as she realized she could make him happy, give him a bit of pleasure in a simple small way. She gently massaged his thigh muscles, releasing any tension she found there, then she worked her way down to his calf, kneading his large muscle and shin. She finished off by wrapping her small hands around the arch of his foot, smoothing the skin back and forth with her warm hands, relaxing any tense muscles as best she could. She watched his relaxed face as she worked, and was positive she detected a small smile of pleasure lift his lips! She wished she could hug him and kiss his lips, such was her desire to wrap him in love, but everything about him was damaged, broken, twisted or bruised. Oh the loving he was going to get when he was fit enough for physical contact. She grinned a bit at the naughty thoughts that engendered, but it was a natural loving need she felt and she knew he needed even more.

Teresa found a chair and pulled it up to the side of the bed, and once again grasped Patrick's hand, gently squeezing it between her small palms.

"Patrick, it's me, Teresa…. can you hear me my love?" she asked, praying for a response. He lay perfectly still, his eyes calm beneath his eyelids.

"Patrick, do you want a kiss, because I want to kiss you so much" she teased, standing up to lean in for a kiss on his forehead. As her body brushed against his, he turned his head very slowly towards her and sighed. Teresa froze. Did he understand her? Was he turning to offer his face to her? God she wished she knew what was going on behind those sleepy eyes.

"Wake up sleepy head, let me see your beautiful eyes Patrick" she softly commanded him. Nothing. No response. She decided to conduct a little test. She walked around to the other side of the bed and leaned against him once again, brushing up against his arm with her breasts and her large belly.

"How about I kiss this side of your face Patrick?" she teased him. A moment passed, then another, with no response. Just as she was giving it up as a bad idea, Patrick slowly rotated his head to face the new direction of her voice, until his cheek rested firmly against the pillow, offering his face to her for a kiss! Teresa had her answer! He could hear her! He couldn't muster the strength to open his eyes just yet, but he could follow her voice and feel her hands on his mangled body.

"Here's your kiss my love" she whispered in his ear, nuzzling up against his cheek with hers, before she left a trail of kisses up his neck and across his cheek, finally finding the spot on his forehead that she kissed so often now. She looked at his calm face and could not resist his lips for another second. Grasping the oxygen mask as if it would shatter at any moment, she gently lifted it away from his face and kissed his lips delicately, relishing their warmth and softness. She would never take another kiss from her husband for granted ever again. They were too precious. A soft moan escaped Patrick's throat and Teresa feared she had hurt him, quickly replacing the mask on his nose and mouth, not sure what harm she could have done. But deep in the dark hazy region of his mind aware only of the feelings of touch and pain, Patrick had felt something better, something wonderful. Soft lips had caressed his, a feeling of such exquisite love and care that for a few seconds the sensations of pain in every part of his body had been vanquished. He could not coherently express what he had experienced, but somehow his brain hoped to experience that wonderful feeling again.

XXXXXXXXX

The grey man, Karil, drove until he found a cheap motel with free wi-fi. He needed to do some research if any of his plans were going to have even the tiniest chance of success. First up, find a list of all hospitals in the area, especially any that were equipped with a heli-pad and a full trauma centre. Then, find the floor plans of those hospitals. He thanked the gods of wikipedia and the world wide web for the reams of information that was soon at his fingertips. A trip to the printer located in the lobby would soon give him hard copies of the information he needed to take with him.

An hour later he was on his way to a discount store for second hand clothes and shoes, an idea already forming in his mind. Simple ideas were always the best in his opinion. Low tech and basic, that was the way to go…

By the end of the day, if all went according to his plan, he would know exactly where one Patrick Jane was recuperating from his sojourn at Ms. Nemic's farm. His worst days were not over yet.

XXXXXXX

Cho drove to the hospital where Laila was recovering from her surgery. His call to the hospital earlier had informed him of her terror filled breakdown, and he needed to interview her and reassure her of her safety as soon as possible. He hoped she would remember him from that horrible night she was shot.

Laila was now resting quietly in her private room, a guard outside her door to protect her. She had been told she was no longer a suspect, but just knowing a cop stood by her door, armed with a gun, made her feel she was still on the verge of being arrested. Her nerves were stretched to the limit. If only she could just be a regular university student like everyone else! As she was worrying about her murky future, a familiar and scary face appeared at her door. Cho knocked on the doorframe, waiting for her permission to let him enter.

"Mind if I come in?" he inquired kindly, stepping into her room anyway. "Remember me?" he asked.

Laila nodded her head in fear, not sure if her freedom was coming to a lurching halt, imagining the feeling of cold handcuffs on her wrists again.

"You're Senior Agent Cho of the FBI. Are you coming to take me to jail?" she asked meekly.

Cho came around to the side of her bed and sat down, an earnest look on his face.

"Laila, you can relax now, no one is going to arrest you again. We know that everything you told us was true. You tried your best to help us and were completely truthful. Thank you for that. You were instrumental in the rescue of our colleague Patrick Jane. We owe you a debt of gratitude. Please accept the thanks of the FBI and my personal thanks for helping us return Mr. Jane to safety" he said with a smile.

Laila was stunned. The last thing she remembered was being handcuffed by the FBI and under suspicion. Then for some reason she was running, running away from a grey man, then horrible pain in her back. Now everything was upside down. But how…?

'Do you think you are strong enough to answer some questions for me today Laila?" Cho asked. Laila nodded her willingness and Cho brought out his well-worn leather bound notepad.

"Laila, do you have any idea how many men Katarina Nemic employed?"

The young woman lay back against the pillows, deep in thought. "She went through men pretty quickly. I never bothered to learn their names since they were all alike. But usually she had four or five men around the house, some at the farm, some out on assignments, some as drivers. It all depended on how loyal they were to her. Some just got pissed off with her attitude and walked away after a few weeks."

Cho was taking notes, not liking this answer as it was so indefinite.

"Exactly how many men did you see this time around Laila? In Austin and then at the farm?"

Laila thought back to those scary days and remembered.

"There were two men at the tea shop. They came in a van driven by another man that I didn't see. They talked about a fourth man named Pavel, who couldn't come to the shop because he was out filming Mrs. Jane. The driver didn't think much of Pavel, said he was a useless, stupid lowlife. So that makes 3 men at the shop and one out somewhere around Austin. Sorry, but if there are more, I didn't see them."

"How many men went to the farm with you and Mr. Jane?"

"Just the two big guys from the tea shop. They carried Mr. Jane out of the shop after he was drugged, then we were driven to the airport and got on the jet. The men sat in the back with Mr. Jane and I sat further up front. I think they were afraid I would try to talk to Mr. Jane while we were in the air. The driver left the airport and I never saw him again. So I guess they are all still out there somewhere!" she said in fear.

Cho took Laila's hand in his and gave it a soft squeeze. "Laila, the man who was chasing you at the farm, he's dead. I shot him because he was going to kill you. The other man was arrested in the house and is in a cell right now. We also have your Aunt in custody. She will never hurt you again!"

Laila looked at Cho with large surprised eyes, the news slowly sinking in that her Aunt couldn't come and harm her anymore. Two men out of the way! But that left two more…

"What about the other men, the ones in Austin? Did you find them and arrest them too?" she asked hopefully.

"We have one in custody, the man named Pavel. But the driver of the van is still out there. We don't have a name or a description for him. I was hoping you could help me with that" he replied.

"But I never was told his name. Names were never used. I think it was a mistake that he even mentioned Pavel by name. He was sitting up at the front of the van, and there was a black curtain behind the driver's seat, pulled all the way across. I never saw his face. I was told to get into the back of the van and sit on the floor. Mr. Jane was unconscious and was on the floor next to me. He wasn't moving once the stuff in the tea hit him."

"About the tea Laila. What did you give him?" Cho asked.

"Oh I didn't give him anything! It was my job to show up at the shop, pretend I worked there, keep Mr. Jane busy and then I was supposed to offer him a cup of Oolong tea, a sample. The grey man was waiting in the back of the shop. He put the tea into the cup along with a white powder. I have no idea what it was, but it worked very fast. I saw Mr. Jane stagger and fall, hitting his head on the table! I tried to run to him to help him, but the other man held me back and twisted my arm behind my back. Then he told me to go outside and smoke a cigarette while they took Mr. Jane out of the back door. I don't even smoke! I think they wanted to have my cigarette butts there to incriminate me. Why else would I have to do that?" she asked sensibly.

Cho smiled at her deductive reasoning. This girl was smart! The pieces of the puzzle were coming together nicely. The biggest threat now was the mystery man Laila had confirmed was still out there. Was he still in Austin, waiting to get orders from Katarina, or would he come to Maine and discover what had happened on the farm? Teresa, Patrick and Laila would remain in danger until he was found. Another interview with Miroslav or Pavel might give the FBI the information they so desperately needed. Cho thanked Laila and again assured her that once she was well again, she would be free to live her life the way she wanted to. Laila was much happier and relaxed when he left than she had been when Cho first entered her hospital room. At least one good thing had happened today.

Cho placed a call to the FBI office in Austin, ordering an interrogator to once again question Pavel. Perhaps he could give them details about the mystery man and facilitate his arrest. A name, a description, anything that would lead to his capture was needed as soon as possible. For now, Cho was going to have another visit with Miroslav and yank his chain for more information about the mysterious fourth man.

XXXXXXX


	25. Words of Love

**Okay - big continuity error on my part. I named the doctor who was taking care of Laila in a previous chapter Dr. Greenfeld. But that is also the name of the doctor taking care of Jane. They are in two different hospitals, so unless Dr. Greenfeld has a twin, I goofed. From now on the doctor taking care of Laila will have another name. Sorry, how did that get away from me? I should go back and fix that soon!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Mentalist and I make no money writing these stories.**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 25 Words of Love

(FBI Office, rural Maine)

Cho pulled into the parking lot and made his way into the small building. His head swam with worry about the fourth man. Was there also a fifth that Laila didn't know about? If so his job would be infinitely more difficult to do. Miroslav had answers and Cho had to make sure he got them today. That cocky bastard could sit and rot in the coldest cell Cho could find until it cowed his haughty attitude.

Cho made his way to the interrogation room, where Miroslav had already been settled. Cho wasted no time in getting down to business.

"Tell me about the other men you worked with Miroslav. Tell me about the driver of the van in Austin."

Miroslav smiled at Cho. 'So, he has learned a lot in a short time. Who told him about Karil? Is that Laila bitch still alive after all? This Agent needs to know how many more men are out there. Huh, I could mess with his head… ' he thought to himself. He leaned back in his chair and delighted in the power he now held over the FBI.

"What makes you think there are more men? You shot one, you have me, do you have more than one man in a cell somewhere else Agent? How many does that make? Three ? I don't want to get my math wrong" he grinned mischievously.

"There was a driver in the van the day you kidnapped Mr. Jane. It was not Pavel, so who is the man, and where is he right now?" Cho continued.

"Well since you seem to have a source of information, why not just ask and find out?" Miroslav goaded. "Or can't she remember so well?" He assumed the source was Laila.

Cho didn't have the time for this run-around, he had drag the information out of his subject. He had to talk.

"We know that you and Pavel didn't get along, you didn't work well with any of the other men. We are interviewing Pavel in Austin right now and I am sure he will give us a lot of information about your activities that will be presented at your trial. We can temper that somewhat if you give us something useful. Help yourself out here Miroslav. We are talking about years in prison. You help us and maybe you can shave a few of those years off starting today. I just need to make a call to Austin and the deal is off the table" he glowered at Miroslav.

The prisoner just stared at Cho, wondering if he was bluffing. Did Pavel talk? Would he? Could this agent arrange for a lighter sentence?

"Time's up. You had your chance. I'm making that call to Austin. Pavel sings like a bird" Cho stated as he stood up and headed for the door.

"Enjoy prison."

"Wait!"

Cho stopped with his hand on the doorknob. Turning to his prisoner he glared at him in frustration. "Speak".

"The man you want, his name is Karil. No last name, we never had the need to know much about each other."

"I need a description. Now!"

Miroslav sat up straighter and figured he was committed now, might as well give them everything.

"Karil is tallish, about five eleven, slim build, black short hair, black goatee. Likes to wear rings and a gold necklace. Always thought it would get the ladies interested in him" he grinned. Cho wanted more.

"What else? Tattoo's? Scars, limp? Anything else?"

"No, nothing else. Just a regular guy. Speaks good english and Slovak, several other languages. That's why Katarina hired him, he blends in well."

"Who else is out there? How many more? I want all their names or you rot in a hole somewhere out in the back of beyond" Cho spat out.

"No one else, I swear! I only worked with those men, no one else. If other men work for Katarina, I don't know where or how many!" he insisted.

Cho knew this was the extent of this man's knowledge. God forbid there were more acolytes out there plotting revenge on the Jane's. This had to stop today.

Cho texted a description of Karil to all agents and bodyguards. If he showed up anywhere near Patrick, Teresa or Laila Kovac, they would get him.

XXXXXXX

Karil stood in line at the Walmart downtown with his purchases in his hand. Everything was so readily available in the US. You want it, just walk out your front door and there it was. He sailed out the door after paying for his items and headed back to his motel room. Stripping down to his boxers, he stepped into the small bathroom and opened the package of medium brown hair dye and proceeded to change his black hair to a mousy brown. Next, the goatee was shaved off, causing him some regret. He always fancied himself a ladies man, and his well-trimmed beard was a selling feature. Once he was clean shaven, and his hair dry, he took out hair clippers and buzzed off his hair to a short half inch all over. Now he looked ordinary and bland. Perfect. He removed his rings and put them away with his garish necklace, hoping to wear them again soon. This disguise made him squint with distaste but it would get him very close to his target. If all went according to plan, he would be moving around the hospital tomorrow as freely as a nurse. Tonight he had floor plans of the Trauma Centre to study and commit to memory. He had to move around as if he knew his way through the hospital, arousing no suspicion. Hours later, over take out pizza and beer, he knew exactly what his attack plan would entail. 'Bring it on' he smiled. Just a few more hours and Patrick Jane would be his. Wait until Katarina found out, she would promote him in a heartbeat.

XXXXXXX

Teresa had spent the whole day at the hospital, in and out of her husband's room as often as the staff would let her be there by his side. She could see from his restlessness that he was surfacing from his sedative, and from his facial expressions, he was in pain. She hoped he would awaken soon so he could ask for more specific pain relief. His knee was still braced and secured so it would not move while he was bedridden. That surgery had to wait until his neurologist had OK'd the procedure. The concussion was slowing things down, but better be safe than sorry. Sarah finally persuaded Teresa to leave the hospital and venture out into the early evening for a breath of fresh air and a supper somewhere more inspiring than the hospital cafeteria. Teresa had balked at first, but when she relented, she was very happy to have a change of scenery after all. Sarah was good company. She understood how Teresa thought, just got it that Teresa was all cop, through and through, but also a devoted wife. She hoped to emulate Teresa and follow in her footsteps some day. Teresa was fading fast, her nerves and adrenaline having left her exhausted. Sarah tried to get her to go home after supper, but Lisbon insisted in returning to the ICU for one last visit. She was so afraid Patrick would finally wake up alone in a strange room, confused and scared. She would sleep on the floor if need be to prevent that.

Sarah finally gave up trying to talk Teresa into going home to sleep, and drove her back to the Trauma Centre. Once upstairs, Sarah took up her position by the door, vigilant again, and Teresa pushed open the door to see her husband once more before she went home for the night.

Patrick was lying on his back, the head of the bed slightly raised to keep his lungs clear. The danger with prolonged bedrest was that fluid could gather in the lungs and cause infection. In someone already weak and debilitated, that often led to pneumonia. So, keep the head up. Teresa was at his side in a moment, kissing his cheek and forehead. She raised the oxygen mask once more and placed a soft kiss on his lips. She hoped the mask would come off soon, letting her see Patrick's handsome face once more.

Smoothing his hair away from his eyes, she spoke to him as if he was awake, maybe it would help to break through his fog.

"Hi Patrick. Did you miss me? I was just out for a bite to eat with my new friend Sarah. You will like her. She won't put up with any nonsense, so you will have to watch what you say to her! You will be happy to know that I am eating, even if the food is from the cafeteria here. But I want no nagging from you about my eating habits, OK mister?" she teased.

She scanned his face for any sign that he understood her. So far it looked like he slept without comprehension. Undaunted, she carried on.

'Patrick, I love the baby's room. That blue paint is just the right colour. When you brought home the sample I wasn't sure about it, but it is perfect! Not too dark and not too babyish. He will like it when he is a bit older I'm sure."

Teresa ran her hands down his arm, massaging his bicep and squeezing his shoulder. A loud moan erupted out of his mouth and she stopped, frozen in surprise! She gingerly reached for his shoulder again and massaged it again, only to elicit the same deep moan and contorted facial expression of pain. She realized she was causing him pain and he could feel it.

"Patrick, does your shoulder hurt? Am I hurting you?' she asked, not expecting an answer.

Patrick slowly shook his head up and down! An answer! He heard her!

"Patrick, open your eyes for me. Can you open your eyes and look at me sweetie?" she implored him.

Turning his head slightly to get more comfortable Jane's eyes flickered open and shut, open and shut, battling against lethargy and the lights. Fortunately the lighting was already dim in his room this late in the evening, but he was unused to it. Teresa studied his face as he worked hard to surface, swimming through the last vestiges of drugs and exhaustion. It was so hard to break through, the comfort of nothingness being so hard to leave behind. A hand rubbed his forearm and he felt a kiss on his cheek once more. Such a wonderful feeling, please, more…..

Patrick's eyes sprang open and he looked up at the ceiling, expecting to see chains and wooden beams in a dark basement. His whole body tensed up. He dreaded the next voice he would hear, the maniacal smoothness of Ms. Nemic. He wasn't sure he could take another day of this torment.

"Wake up Patrick! It's me, Teresa. You're safe. You are safe Patrick."

Patrick shut his eyes again, sad that he had imagined Teresa's voice, taunting him with the lie of freedom. She was far away…and he was here in the basement, alone with a lunatic.

A warm hand rubbed his chest and held his hand, urging him to wake up fully. Against his will, he finally opened his eyes to face whatever Katarina planned for him this time. He turned his head towards the warm body he felt to his left and saw… his wife! Teresa. Teresa! How could she be here?

A rough scratchy sound came out of Jane's throat as he tried to speak, but when he opened his mouth to try again, a flash of pain raced across his face as his jaw announced its' displeasure at being moved.

"Shhhh… don't talk just yet Patrick! Your jaw is fractured" she warned him, glad he was trying to communicate.

He stared at his wife in amazement. She spoke to him! But she wasn't real. He reached out a wobbly hand and ran a finger down her cheek, making sure she was not an illusion. Her skin was warm and soft. How could he feel that if she was just an illusion? A tiny smile graced his lips as he finally let himself believe she was there with him. There. Where were they? He turned his head carefully and scanned the room, looking for grey men or Katarina lurking close by, ready to pounce again.

"You're in the hospital Jane. Cho and his SWAT team rescued you from Katarina's basement. Laila got away and told Cho where you were. She saved you!" she whispered to his wondering face.

Patrick pursed his lips trying to form a word but again, winced at the pain it caused in his jaw. He raised his eyebrows in frustration, a question clearly on his mind. Teresa sprang into action and opened her purse, taking out a pen and a notepad. She handed them over to Patrick and he shakily took them, gathering up his strength and ordering his thoughts, then put pen to paper.

"Laila safe?"

Teresa read the words and smiled, "Yes, she is safe. She got shot but she is going to be OK. She is in another hospital."

Patrick felt his stomach drop. "Shot?"

'Yes, one of Katarina's men was hunting her and she ran away. He shot her before Cho could kill him."

Patrick watched her speak with awe and love. That's my girl he was thinking. My beautiful wife… she's here! He couldn't get over it. He could barely take his eyes off her face. Turning back to the paper with regret, he wrote another question.

"Where Katarina?"

"She's in jail. She will never be free again."

"We safe?"

Teresa stalled giving Patrick an answer. What to tell him? They weren't safe, not just yet. There might be another grey man or more out there wanting to harm them. Patrick tapped the paper with his pen, asking for an answer. Teresa licked her lips, thinking how best to reply. Patrick understood, and took matters into his own hands.

"Not safe".

Teresa nodded, not safe. "There might be more of Katarina's men out there trying to get you or me or Laila. She might be in jail, but her reach is extensive. We have bodyguards outside of your room, 2 in fact, and another one at Laila's hospital room."

"You safe?"

"My bodyguard Sarah is staying with me at a safe house close by. The baby and I are safe Jane, and so are you. Please don't worry."

Jane looked at her and knew he had to act like he was OK with this news. Each of them only wanted the best for each other.

"OK, no worry".

Another thought suddenly occurred to Jane.

"Me. What's wrong?"

Teresa read the question and knew she had to be straight with Jane. He was well aware of his pain level and would know if she lied. Better bite the bullet and tell him everything.

"Katarina tortured you for days, so I am told. You have a moderate to severe concussion from a beating, a fractured jaw, broken and cracked ribs, a broken knee, severe bruising and badly damaged wrists from your restraints."

Patrick nodded his head, that sounded about right judging from the pain that was rapidly escalating as he became more and more lucid.

Teresa had a question for Jane.

"How are you feeling Patrick? Does it hurt much?"

Patrick gripped the pen and thought a bit. Better be truthful.

"Hurts like hell. Feel terrible".

Teresa kissed his shoulders, neck and his nose. "I'm so sorry my love".

"Shoulders. PAIN" he wrote.

'So that's why he grimaced when she touched him' Teresa thought. Better let the doctor know about that injury too. Just then the door opened and Dr. Greenfeld strolled in, visiting Jane one last time before his shift ended. Jane visibly jumped in his bed when the stranger entered, fear being his first reaction to everything now.

"It's OK Patrick, he's your doctor" Teresa assured him, holding his hand tighter.

"Well look who's awake! Good evening Mr. Jane!"

Greenfeld came around to the other side of the bed and smiled down on Patrick. "Looks like you have decided to join the party after all. Glad to see you awake!" he beamed, while reaching out and shaking Jane's hand.

Jane pointed to his oxygen mask, clearly wanting it gone. The doctor checked his eyes, listened to his heart and lungs and then felt for a fever. All was looking good.

"I know the mask is a bother when you are awake, but we would like you to keep it on overnight and then in the morning we will take it off and see how you are doing. As you may have noticed, your jaw is fractured, so please don't try to talk just yet. Maybe a bit tomorrow and a bit more each day as it heals. Before you know it you will be bending your wife's ear again!" he assured him. Jane turned to Teresa, a question on his face, while pointing at his shoulder. Teresa remembered what he had just revealed.

"Dr. Greenfeld, Patrick and I are talking via notes, and he has just told me that his shoulders hurt a lot. Maybe they were damaged while he was in chains? Can you check that out for him?"

The doctor nodded and gently prodded Jane's shoulders, pressing into the tendons and muscles, with Jane groaning with pain in response.

"It seems like there is damage to the tendons for sure. I'll order an ultrasound to make sure none were torn away from the bone. I am hoping it will not require surgery. If they are just stretched and bruised, we can address that with massage, heat and pain meds... It will just take time to heal. How is your general pain level Mr. Jane, from 1 to 10, 1 being the least painful, 10 being the worst?"

'Don't lie!" warned Teresa. She glared at her husband only slightly playfully, knowing full well he would normally say he was just fine thank you very much, just to get out of the hospital.

"8' Jane wrote on the notepad, surprising his wife. He must really be in pain to be so honest. Again her heart sank at the knowledge that he was still so hurt and suffering.

"Ok, I'm going to have a nurse come in and set up a pain pump for you. You will be in control of the pain medication. You can't overdose yourself, but you can press the button and give yourself some pain relief when you need it. You will be feeling better very soon. Have a good night Mr. Jane. I'll see you in the morning" the doctor said, a whirlwind of activity. He soon left the room and Jane turned once again to look at his lovely wife.

"You tired?" he wrote.

"A bit" she lied. "Can I stay with you until you fall asleep?" she asked.

Jane nodded in happiness, so thrilled that he was with Teresa. That's all that mattered now. A moment later a nurse came in quietly and got busy attaching the pain pump to Jane's IV. She showed him how to use it when his pain got to be too much for him to bear, then she left him alone with Teresa. The first thing he did was depress the pain button, sighing as the relief flooded into his veins. He had needed that desperately.

Jane grasped her hand in both of his, the feeling of her skin a lifeline for him now. He decided that he just might never let go of it again. Teresa removed his oxygen mask and leaned over, kissing him tenderly on his lips. She left the mask off until he slowly drifted back to sleep. His face settled into peaceful repose, and when she thought he was down for the night, she gently put the mask back in place and tiptoed out of his room, shutting the door quietly behind her.


	26. Never Ending Panic

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 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Mentalist and I make no money writing these stories.**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 26 Never Ending Panic

At 9 am the next morning, a non-descript compact car drove up to the Trauma Centre and two young men emerged chattering and joking. Another small car soon arrived, parking next to the first. A tall man stepped out, neatly dressed in a polo shirt and khaki pants, carrying a file folder filled with a few papers. He caught up to the two young men, walking behind them but listening to their conversation.

"I tell you man, Burksy won't show! He is just yanking your chain!"

"He told me himself that he had already applied for the job. You know damned well that whenever Phil Burk applies for a job, he always gets it. He's got the looks, the marks and the smarts. What chance to do I have getting that orderlies' job if Burksy applied as well?"

"Trust me, the job is yours! I know for a fact that Phil has the hots for that cute red-head over at the hardware store. He has applied for a job there too. What would you rather do, push old farts around in wheelchairs or stock shelves with a gorgeous babe 8 hours a day? There's no way in hell Burk will even show for the interview. So that makes you a shoe-in for the job! Believe me!" the earnest young friend told his mate.

They hurried towards the employee door of the hospital and took no notice of the bland man following closely behind. Once all three stepped inside, a security guard stopped them all and asked why they were there. Security was high now at every entrance to protect Jane, even where long-time employees came and went. The two young men explained that the one guy was there for a job interview on the 3rd floor.

"What position are you applying for?" asked the guard.

"Orderly, name is Charles Vaughn" replied the young man. The security guard checked a list, found the name and allowed Charles to enter. The friend had no business there, so he was made to go back outside to wait for his friend. They soon parted and then the gentleman in the polo shirt stepped up.

"Reason for being here today?" the guard asked again.

"I have a job interview on the 3rd floor, applying to be an orderly" the man answered politely.

"Name?"

"Phil Burk" replied the man, knowing now that the name would be on the list of applicants. He prayed that the real Phil Burk had not already shown up.

The guard scanned the list and checked off a name. "OK, go ahead, third floor, to your right off the elevator" the guard told him.

"Thanks so much! I really need this job!" The man enthused. "Hey, if I get it, I'll bring you a coffee the day I start!" suggested the smiling job applicant.

The guard smiled slightly at this guy's eagerness. "OK man. One cream, two sugars!"

The job applicant nodded in agreement and wandered up to the bank of elevators, pushing the button for the 3rd floor. Once inside, the man dropped his affable smile and pushed the button for the 4th floor. So far his plan was working beautifully. The guard would remember him next time he came in, he had made sure of it. The door slid open onto a bustling ICU, nurses and doctors and orderlies moving swiftly but quietly in and out of patient rooms and leaning on the desk at the nurse's station halfway down the hall. The man in the polo shirt stepped out and started to walk down a long hall, spotting an armed guard outside a private room on the other side. He now knew which room Jane was in! He had almost made his way to the end of the hall when a voice stopped him in his tracks.

"You there! Come here!" He stopped instantly and turned in feigned surprise.

"Yes?"

"Who are you? Who are you here to visit?" asked a stern looking nurse.

"Oh ahhh, no one. I am not visiting anyone. I am looking for the HR department. I'm supposed to be having an interview for the orderlies job but someone told me this was where I needed to go. Where is the HR department?" Karil asked, looking very confused.

"You shouldn't be up here, this is a restricted area. Go back down to the 3rd floor, turn left when you get off the elevator and you can't miss it" she advised him.

"Oh OK! Thanks!" he gushed. "Wish me luck!" he smiled and scurried back to the elevator. As he left he looked up and smiled at the sour looking nurse. Someone else who would remember his face. Very good.

He got off the elevator on the second floor and headed for the cafeteria, knowing exactly where everything was located. His long hours spent studying the floor plans was going to come in very handy. He stood in line and bought a lunch for himself, as he needed to be gone long enough for his so called "interview". He wandered around the large room until he spotted an orderly sitting alone at a long table. Sitting down next to him, Karil dug into his lunch and then struck up a conversation.

"Hey, you an orderly here?"

"Yeah, so what?" the guy replied.

Karil put out his hand to shake his new friend's' hand.

"Phil Burk. I just started here in the same department. Don't know anybody yet and saw you over here. Thought maybe you could give me some pointers?" Karil asked with fake enthusiasm.

The hulk next to him smiled with the flattery, shaking "Phil's" hand.

"Sure, sure. Nice to meet you Phil. Name's Sam. I been here for 'bout 5 years now. Whaddya wanna know?"

"Well for starters, what's with the Gestapo at all the doors? Are we about to be invaded?" he joked.

"Ah hell no. Some cop was brought in here pretty banged up, and he is under full time guard. Cops are afraid someone might try to get to him again."

"Why?"

"Hell if I know. But they are guarding him 24/7. Must be a pretty important guy. I hear he was kidnapped and tortured! Can you believe that bullshit? But that's just rumour. Prob'ly nothin' so interesting happened at all".

"Yeah… rumours" agreed Karil, nodding his head.

"So what all will I be doing? The dragon lady in the HR department wasn't very informative." Karil asked.

"Oh yeah? Must have changed their routine since I started. Lemme tell ya, it's mostly moving racks of stuff from here to there, filling cupboards with supplies, moving patients from their rooms to wherever they need tests or x-rays done. You and me, we's just glorified chauffeurs for sick people!" laughed the orderly, Sam.

"Well it beats making french fries for 8 hours in a row!" laughed "Phil". Noticing Sam was just about done his drink, Karil spoke up.

"Hey, let me buy you another sweet tea. I forgot to get one for myself. Want one?"

"Sure, thanks!"

"O-kay…. now…. where is the drinks machine in here?" muttered Karil, looking confused.

"Never mind, let me get one for you, my treat for your new job! offered Sam.

"Thanks! I owe you one!" smiled Karil. Sam stood up and shuffled off to the other side of the room, fiddling with the drinks dispenser. While he was gone Karil took out his phone and took a quick photo of Sam's hospital ID lying on the table. Soon after Sam returned, "Phil' finished his meal and wished his newest friend a good evening.

Karil headed back out and gave the guard the thumbs up, smiling as he left the building. A short drive later he was back in his motel room, creating a fake ID for himself using Sam's ID for a template. A selfie photo later, and Karil was ready to print everything off on the lobby printer. Hours later, on his way out to the bar for the night, Karil stopped by an office supply shop and laminated his new name badge. He was now an fake employee of the Trauma Centre, badge, friends and all. Plan A was now complete. Tonight he could relax in a bar somewhere with a cheap girl on his arm to warm his bed later. Tomorrow Plan B would be rolled out. It was all too easy.

XXXXXXX

Jane had awakened early that morning to find himself alone in his room. He looked around in confusion and heard the general noise of a busy hospital just outside his door. The oxygen mask blew air forcefully against his nose and mouth, and he found it very annoying. He reached up and pulled it off, leaving it on his pillow. He ran a hand over his face and was surprised to feel a fairly long growth of beard on his face. He put both hands up in front of his face and studied his arms, and the careful lengths of gauze wrapped around and around his wrists. A memory hit him hard as he touched the tender flesh under the bandages. Zip ties. Chains. His full weight carried on his torn wrists. He sensed Katarina leaning in close to his face and slapping him until he swung back and forth on his damaged arms. A cold shudder ran up his spine at the vision. Beads of perspiration formed on his forehead and his heart rate started to climb. The memory was crystal clear, overwhelming. His eyes closed against the sight his mind saw. Then he remembered lying on a dirt floor, kicks and punches raining down on him. He was hurting all over and feeling sick. Someone had beaten him and left him to rot in that small, damp, horrible room. His breathing hitched in his throat as he again felt every blow land and crunch into his soft belly and his straining ribs.

He swiped his hand across his damp forehead and tried to slow his breathing, but he was having a panic attack, not sure if he was truly safe. Where was Lisbon? Had he dreamed that she had been with him last night? He had dreamed of her so many times in the last week, but she had always dematerialized when he opened his eyes and saw his prison once again. He gasped for breath, his lungs constricting with the effort of breathing. A sudden loud beeping sound began, startled him, what did it mean? The door suddenly flew open and feet ran into the room. Patrick threw both hands up over his head and face, and started to scream. He begged for them to stop. He waited for the blows to begin again, but was surprised to instead feel a cool hand on his arm and a soothing voice call his name. His heart was a jackhammer against his ribcage and he felt nauseous with fear. He whimpered behind his hands, his eyes screwed tightly shut.

"It's alright now Mr. Jane. Calm down. No one is going to hurt you. You are just having a flashback" a man's voice assured him.

"Patrick, it's OK, no one is going to hurt you anymore. You're safe. I'm with you" he heard Teresa's soft voice assure him.

Jane slowly lowered his hands, daring to open his eyes, and saw a doctor standing next to him, with Teresa close behind, a terrified look on her face. He was panting with adrenaline, his fight or flight reflexes in full gear. The doctor put a very light sedative in his IV line, just to calm him enough to relax and breath normally. He had seen victims of abuse go through this very difficult phase, and it was always hard to watch the patient suffer so much.

"Calm down Patrick, you had a bad dream. No one will hurt you anymore" Lisbon repeated, stepping up to his bed and kissing his face. Patrick fell back against his pillows, groaning in pain with the sudden movement jostling his sore ribs. His heart rate was still very fast but the meds started to work their magic and his soon breathing began to level out. The doctor examined him and felt sure that once this difficult moment had passed, Mr. Jane would be OK. Hopefully these flashbacks would not go on for too long.

"Slow and easy Patrick. Just breathe slowly and relax, I'm right here and I won't leave you alone" Teresa crooned in his ear softly, tears of worry blurring her vision.

"Feeling a bit better Mr. Jane?" the doctor asked. 'Can I get you anything?"

Patrick grasped Teresa's hand so tightly she thought it might break, but she smiled back at him, determined not to leave his side again until they threw her out by force.

Patrick closed his eyes, exhausted by his fright. Would this never end? he thought.

Teresa wiped his brow and made a suggestion, hoping it would be OK with the doctor.

"Can my husband have a cup of tea? It would really go a long way in calming him down".

"Absolutely. Good idea. I'll ask one of the nurses to get a cup ready and she will bring it in." The doctor touched Jane lightly on the shoulder.

"These attacks won't last long. Once your mind truly believes you are safe, you will feel much better. Just give yourself some time, OK?" he said kindly. Patrick nodded numbly, glad to have Teresa by his side. Being alone was so scary, he needed her more than he could express. If only he could open his mouth and talk…

The doctor switched off the flow of air and took the mask off the pillow. Turning to go he smiled at the couple as they held hands, gazing into each other's eyes. They would get through this.

He left quietly and Teresa pulled up a chair, making herself comfortable for the long day ahead.

She leaned over Patrick and kissed his lips, his nose, his forehead and nuzzled his neck. The feeling of her was so thrilling, so loving and the scent of her skin and hair was mesmerizing. Patrick inhaled deeply, relishing the familiarity of all of these sensations. He smiled carefully, never taking his eyes off her face, afraid that if he did, she would disappear like a phantasm. He licked his lips and tried to speak without moving his jaws. Ventriloquism had never been his strong suit, but he would try to talk without moving his mouth.

"'Luv you…" he whispered.

"I love you too".

"You 'kay?"

"Yup. See?" Teresa said, rubbing her large belly. "Look!" She pulled her top up and showed Patrick the pattern of a little person pressing out against her tight skin.

"Jane Junior says hi too" she smiled.

Patrick dared to grin a bit and reached out, placing his large hand gently against her stomach.

"So great" he whispered.

Teresa didn't want to press her husband, but she had questions. Better start slowly.

"How is the pain level today Patrick, better?" she asked.

He nodded, pointing to the pain pump. "S'wonnerful…" he slurred.

"Good. Are you hungry?"

Patrick hadn't actually thought about food since he woke up, since he was getting nutrition through his IV. He didn't know how to answer.

"Can't eat… mouth…" he tried to explain, pointing to his jaw. Teresa smiled and realized it was a dumb question. But soon maybe he could start on soft foods through a straw.

"Patrick, can you tell me how Laila escaped? Why didn't you?" she dared to ask.

Jane looked thoughtfully at his wife, not wanting her to know too much yet, but clearly she didn't know he was the one who had escaped first, then helped Laila to make a mad dash into the trees. He motioned for the pen and paper again like the night before, and slowly began to write. The words flowed out as his memory took him back to that horrible day, when freedom had seemed so very close. He told Lisbon about picking the lock, getting upstairs and out the back door, only to find Laila out there. A quick description of their run into the woods made Lisbon realize he had done whatever he could to escape and help Laila as well. But she didn't understand why he was still a prisoner when the FBI stormed the farmhouse while Laila was free, but in custody.

"Why did Laila get away, but you didn't? What happened?"

Patrick shook his head, seeing the grey man standing above him after he fell down the hill and broke his knee. How to tell her all of that?

"Long story. Couldn't run, broke knee falling down. Got captured again. Laila got away. Katarina not happy" he wrote with understatement.

"And then the beatings really began?" she whispered.

"Yessss… " he hissed between tight lips. He pushed the paper and pen away, clearly not wanting to dwell on this subject anymore. Teresa took the hint, resolving to speak to Cho when she could to find out what else had happened. By now she hoped Laila had been able to tell her side of the story to the FBI.

A short time later a neurologist came in to examine Jane. It had been almost a week since he had suffered the first of many blows to the head. By next week, it might be possible to operate on his knee if he kept making such good progress. The doctor told Jane and Lisbon the good news. Finally a good sign that he was truly on the mend! As the doctor left, a nurse came in with a china mug of cammomile tea, the scent wafting through the air bringing good memories of home with it.

Teresa helped Jane take tiny sips of it as it cooled, so happy to have the love of her life in her life again. Everything else could wait.


	27. Hiding In Plain Sight

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 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Mentalist and I make no money writing these stories.**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 27 Hiding in Plain Sight

Cho had not had a chance to come by the hospital to visit Patrick since he woke up, so that was his plan now that his men were actively searching for the fourth man, Karil. The chances of them finding him were slim unless he really screwed up, but the FBI had to do whatever they could do to eliminate the threat he posed to the Janes. Cho pulled into the parking lot and approached the Trauma Centre, unconsciously scanning faces and builds on all the men he passed. Their man could be anywhere, even here, because a disguise would enable him to move about freely, much to Cho's discomfort. If only they had a last name, fingerprints or a photo so they could really search for this bastard in earnest.

The trip up to ICU took a few minutes longer than the last time as Cho had to clear security this at the front entrance. The guard downstairs was suitably impressed with his FBI ID, but Cho wanted him to be vigilant, not impressed. Lisbon was sitting by Patrick's bed when the knock came on the door. She peeked out to see her friend Cho standing by the guard outside. Waving him inside, probably against hospital rules for the ICU, she led him over to Jane and gave up her chair.

"I'll go rustle up a couple of coffees for us and a tea for Patrick. He's just dozing, but give him a little poke to wake him. He will be sorry if he misses you while he naps" she advised him. Cho smiled at her and sat facing his sleeping friend. Patrick looked less grey now that the dehydration was being remedied with a constant IV drip. His jaw was swollen and looked sore, but overall, he didn't look like a man near death now. Cho hated to wake him, but Lisbon knew best, so he gently shook Jane's arm and called his name.

Patrick was drifting on a comfortable wave of morphine and a sedative to counter his panic attack earlier in the day. He thought he had heard his wife speak to someone and heard tea mentioned, but moments later he was miles away again, floating in an ocean of warmth and bliss. Ahh life was good…..

"Jane…. wake up buddy, it's Cho".

A hand rubbed his arm a few times, making it hard to maintain his foggy trance, so Jane slowly roused himself and turned his head to look at Lisbon. Except it wasn't his wife but a very tired looking Cho! Blinking himself awake, Jane smiled at his friend, happy to see a familiar face.

"Nice to see you Jane! How are you doing?" asked Cho.

Jane gave him the thumbs up sign and gave Cho a small smile. He tried to speak again.

"M'good. Bedder…" Jane whispered, testing out his jaw.

"Glad to hear it. You had me worried last night" smiled Cho.

"Sssorry.."

Cho leaned forward, putting his hands in his lap. He knew Patrick's mind would be working hard to piece together what had gone down the night he was rescued. Best tell him as much good news as possible.

"We have Katarina Nemic in custody Jane. She is as mad as a hatter. Doesn't always know where she is."

"Mmmm… nuts…" Patrick agreed.

"We also have one of her men in custody, big guy named Miroslav. We think he is the one who found you and brought you back to the farm when you escaped."

Jane looked both surprised and pleased at this news. A question formed in his mind.

"Other guy?"

"Dead".

Jane visibly relaxed when he heard it from Cho. He looked off into space, thinking. Turning back to face his friend, he quietly asked the next most logical question.

"All done? Safe now?"

Cho exhaled a large sigh and shook his head, no.

"There is a man in Austin in jail who also worked for Katarina, the guy taking videos of you and Teresa. Maybe you saw them?"

Patrick nodded his head in the affirmative. Those videos had scared him half to death, knowing his wife was being stalked and filmed right at her own home.

"We believe there is one other man, a fourth, named Karil, who was the driver of the van when you were kidnapped in Austin. We have no last name, no photo to work with, no fingerprints to trace either here or in Europe. We have to assume he is going to make a play against you

to impress Katarina. That means you, Teresa and Laila are not safe yet. We have armed guards here and everywhere Lisbon goes" he informed Jane. Jane's face clouded over with worry for his wife and unborn child, not pleased that a threat still hung over them even here in the relative safety of a hospital.

Turning to Cho, he murmured his desires. "Get him".

Patting his friend on the arm, Cho responded softly, "That's the plan". Just then the door opened and Teresa came back in with a tray with three drinks on it.

"Tea time!" she chirped, smiling deeply at Patrick. He couldn't get enough of the warm nectar, even though on better days he would consider hospital tea the dreck that it actually was. Cho found another chair and made sure Teresa sat as close to Jane as possible. They visited quietly, drinking their tea and coffees, until they were discovered by a stern night nurse who ordered them to leave. Teresa and Jane tried to protest, but the nurse held her ground, ushering wife and friend out so her patient could sleep. Many kisses later, Teresa closed the door to Patrick's room and headed for the elevators, where Sarah was waiting for her. Cho went down with the two ladies and then said his goodbyes. It had been a fruitful day so far, but until they found the fourth grey man, he would not be able to relax and call this a closed case.

Teresa and Sarah drove away from the hospital, chatting amiably about Jane and the FBI both here and in Austin. Teresa had already made up her mind to put a commendation in Sarah's file. She was a very good cop.

xxxxxxxxxx

The next day at 7:30 am a very bleary eyed Karil tossed the bleached blonde floozy who had shared his bed last night out of his motel room, ignoring her curses at his cold dismissal of her. He had a full day ahead of him. He showered and shaved, then dressed in the orderlies' uniform he had shopped for the previous day. Ugly sensible shoes completed his outfit and he hurried out the door for a quick breakfast. He planned to show up at the hospital by 9am. Not being a real orderly, he made his own schedule, but he still needed to look like the job was real. At 8:45 he parked in the employee lot and showed his badge, getting by security with a snicker. Stupid Americans. Think they have it all figured out. So much for security. He strode purposefully through the employee entrance with a coffee in his hands for the guard, one cream, two sugars.

"I got the job, so here is the coffee I promised you!" he grinned, surprising the guard with his promised drink.

"Hey thanks man! Glad to hear you got past the battle axe in the HR department!"

"Yup, she is a piece of work!" agreed Karil, so pleased that he had now ingratiated himself with the one guy who could really screw up his plans if he suspected the job was fake. Plan B was off to a good start. Taking the elevator up to the 3rd floor, Karil strode around the nursing floor looking busy, grabbing a handful of bedding off a rack and whistling as he made his way around the halls. He was looking for a very particular item, and was surprised at how his badge and uniform granted him the invisibility he needed. Turning a corner, he saw it, just what he needed. An empty rack with two shelves on it was standing against an end wall, just waiting to be taken. He strolled over and grabbed hold of it and sauntered down the hall, pushing the rack back towards the elevators. He pushed the button for the 4th floor and pushed the rack in when the doors slid open. A moment later, and he had reached his goal, the Intensive Care Unit. The early morning busy time was just ending, the shift having changed almost 2 hours earlier. No one on duty would have seen him wandering around the day before, so he was completely accepted as a hospital employee, going about his mundane chores. He turned to head down the hall where he had spotted the security guard the day before. As he approached Patrick's door, he swivelled the cart so the pile of sheets fell to the ground, landing in a heap right in front of the security guard. The guard didn't move to help him, but turned and ignored the hapless orderly. Karil fumbled around on the floor, re-folding the sheets, gazing occasionally towards the room where his enemy lay. A moment later, the door opened and a tall doctor paused to speak to his patient. Karil saw a man with blonde curls lying on the bed, listening to the instructions the doctor had for him.

"Bingo…" Karil thought. Jane's room for sure, no mistaking it or the man. The guard turned back to stare at Karil so he quickly picked up the sheets and pushed the cart onwards, disappearing around the corner to once again blend in with the relentless activity on the busy unit. Karil had to become a familiar face, a part of the unit, so that the security guard would not be overly interested in him from now on. Karil checked the time, and made note of it. He had to learn the times that the doctor visited Jane's room, how often the nurses came and went, and when his wife showed up. Routine was his friend and he liked to use his friends as much as possible to his own benefit. He had all the time in the world. The ebb and flow of the ICU would gradually reveal itself to him and then he would plan the best time to strike. If the wife was in the way when he did, he would gladly take her out too. No loose ends, no witnesses, just a nice neat job. Like always.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Teresa stepped out of the elevator with a cup of delicious smelling tea in her hand, along with a china mug. She had decided it was time to give her husband a truly great cup of tea. She knew all of his favourites, so she and Sarah had found a wonderful tea shop close to the hospital and had them make up a paper cup full to the brim with warm deliciousness. A bearclaw and coffee also made the trip, so she and Jane could have a snack together. She looked forward to him being able to actually eat something solid some day soon, as he was still too thin for her liking. Sarah took up her post outside the door, relieving the guard who had been there for hours already.

"Good morning handsome!" Teresa greeted her lonesome husband. He had been awake for hours, having been examined, washed, prodded and poked by scrupulously efficient nurses since dawn. He could not for the life of him understand why they woke him up so early just to tell him he needed to rest!

Teresa pulled the rolling table over to Jane's bed and placed the china mug down. She proceeded to pour the hot liquid from the paper cup into the proper china mug, then handed it over to his eager hands.

"Ohhhh …. sooo good!" whispered Jane, his enunciation slowly improving day by day. He grasped the cup with two hands and took a long loving slurp of the dark tea, savouring the aroma and warmth between his hands.

"Am I the best or what?" grinned Teresa, taking her bear claw out of the paper bag and attacking it with gusto.

"Best!' echoed Jane, peeking at her over his cup.

Chewing her sweet treat between sips of decaf coffee, Teresa noticed an improvement in Jane's appearance.

"You look all nicely scrubbed. Except for the hair. Did they run you through a car wash?" she teased.

"Yesss…. no fun….scrubbed ALL of me..." her husband complained, embarrassed by his helplessness in the personal care department.

"Had you on full display did they?" smirked Lisbon. "Wish I had been here to see that!"

"You… mean girrrrrl!" groused Jane.

"Well you look much better, and as soon as you are stronger, ask them to wash your hair. It has seen better days Jane".

He pulled a face, only to suffer the sharp pain of his jaw complaining. "Owww!"

"Serves you right mister!" snickered Teresa.

It was so wonderful to be able to bicker and banter with her husband, even if his smart retorts were limited to a very few well chosen words. Maybe by next week his jaw would be moving a lot more. Then he would talk her ears off. She couldn't wait. As they were talking the door opened with a bang and both of them jumped at the sudden jolt. Fear flashed in Jane's eyes, and his arms flew up in an attempt to protect himself, nearly burning himself with the hot tea.

"So sorry, this cart has a mind of its' own!" stammered the orderly. "I won't be but a minute," he said, reaching for the bin of used bedlinens. Teresa watched him do his job but was not impressed that he had just barged in like that, frightening her husband.

"Next time please knock, don't just walk in!" she shouted at him, angry and protective. He nodded and skulked away, under the watchful eye of the guard. Teresa turned to Patrick who had lowered his arms, feeling foolish at reacting so strongly.

"Stupid man. He should know better!" groused Teresa to Patrick, taking his hand in hers.

"Shoot him next time" whispered Patrick with a sly grin, recovering his calm facade.

Placing a kiss on Jane's lips, Teresa agreed. "I will!".

Karil walked away under the glare of the guard, happy to have gained entry to Jane's room in the boldest way possible. And no one stopped him! "Hlúpe američania (Stupid Americans….)".

He sauntered down the hall, found a bin of dirty linen and dumped his load in there as well. For the next hour he loafed around, appearing busy, avoiding the nurses and other patients, whom he thought were too sick or foul for his delicate tastes. As the nurses made their rounds, and the doctor visited rooms on his way around the unit, Karil wrote it all down in his notepad. A pattern was emerging. If the staff was this predictable, he would be able to cherry pick his best opportunity to take Mr. Jane far far away from the safety of his room. He couldn't wipe the smile off his face as he took the elevator down to the cafeteria for a nice early lunch. He could move around the hospital all afternoon, in and out of the ICU and checking out the roof, basement, stairwells, all of them important to his plans for Mr. Jane.

XXXXXXXXXX

Laila was lying on her side, happy to get her body weight off her bullet wound. She was no longer afraid of the guard outside her room. That nice Agent Cho had assured her that she would be able to go back to school once she was all better. The Attorney General had dropped all charges against her. Maybe she could finally have the normal life that had always eluded her. She was hoping to be out of the hospital in another week, and then? What would she do first? A visit to Mr. Jane was high on her list of priorities. She also desperately wanted to see her best friend Mandy back at school. She wasn't sure when she could resume her classes, but she would try her best to get back to her studies as soon as possible, between physical therapy sessions. Her life would never be the same, and that was actually a good thing.

It was just after 5 pm when she heard voices outside her room, and a big discussion going on. Someone was determined to enter but was being denied permission. Laila tensed up, worried that a grey man was coming for her! As she was growing more concerned, the door finally opened and a short, dark haired, very pregnant woman entered her room. Laila had no idea who she was, but she didn't look dangerous. The woman smiled and waited before she came all the way into the room.

"Hi Laila. My name is Teresa Jane. I believe you know my husband Patrick Jane" she explained.

Laila's eyes grew wide with understanding and she relaxed immediately.

"Oh please! Come in!"

Lisbon approached Laila's bed with an armful of glossy magazines to help the young woman pass the time lying in bed.

"I thought these might be fun to look at. Hope you like them" smiled Teresa.

Laila glanced at them and was thrilled to have a distraction in the form of brand new magazines. Everything the nurses had brought her was old and dog-eared.

"Thank you! How thoughtful!" Laila said with gratitude to this stranger. "Please come in and sit here" she indicated, pointing to the standard visitor's chair by the bed.

Teresa gladly sat, her belly a heavy load these days. She wanted to get to know Laila a bit, knowing she and Patrick had survived something awful together. But she had to be gentle in her questions.

"How are you feeling? Are you in much pain?" asked Lisbon not sure where to begin.

"Oh it hurts, but a little less each day. I was lucky the bullet didn't hit my spine" smiled Laila shyly.

"Good, good. Glad to hear it. Um… I, I have something important to say. I just want you to know that I will be forever grateful to you for helping Patrick while he was held at Katarina's farm. I don't know all the details yet, but I understand you were a great comfort to him" Lisbon said with true warmth in her voice.

Laila blushed and bit her lip, torn between shame for even being a part of the whole awful kidnapping, and pride that she went out on a limb to try to comfort the suffering man.

"I was so ashamed of myself Mrs. Jane. Ashamed that I helped my Aunt carry out her plan to kidnap and hurt your husband."

"Did you have any choice in the matter Laila?"

"No…. no I didn't really. Aunt Katarina had been following my room mate Mandy, and knew all about her, her class schedule, her friends. She showed me what she had been doing and told me that if I didn't do what she wanted, something very bad would happen to Mandy. I couldn't let that happen, but then I ended up letting Mr. Jane get hurt…" her voice trailed off, sounding defeated in her no-win situation.

"Did you want my husband to get kidnapped Laila?" asked Teresa softly.

"Oh God no!" answered the young woman in shock.

"Did you want Patrick to be tortured" continued Teresa evenly.

"Absolutely not! Who would want that? It was horrendous!" Laila blurted, stunned that Teresa could even think such a thing.

"So why would you feel ashamed of yourself Laila?" said Teresa kindly. "You were in an untenable position, with no way out. No matter what you did or did not do, someone innocent was going to be hurt. You had no choice and I do not blame you for your actions. Please believe me" Teresa confirmed.

"But it was your husband who got hurt…" mumbled Laila, surprised at Teresa's forgiveness.

"Yes. And that has been terrible for me and worse for Patrick, but Laila, you were a victim too. Can we just move on from there, put it behind us and get to know one another?" offered Lisbon.

Laila had large tears streaming down her face, a release she had not allowed herself to feel without tremendous guilt. Having this woman's forgiveness was the most amazing thing, one that she would be forever grateful for.

"I would love to get to know you and Patrick better. He just wanted to come home to you. It's all he could think of."

"Do you think you would be able to tell me what happened to him while you were at the farm? Would that be too painful for you Laila? I haven't really wanted to bring it up with Patrick yet".

Wiping her eyes with a tissue, Laila nodded her OK, and settled down in the bed, wondering where to begin.

Teresa leaned forward and took one of Laila's hands in hers, feeling a bit motherly towards the upset girl. She needed answers and Laila needed to get all of this off of her heart, so Lisbon just sat and waited. Together they would help each other over this ordeal.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX


	28. Mystery Man

**Thank you to everyone who wrote reviews for the last chapter. Your comments are great!**

 **Disclaimer: Bruno Heller owns the Mentalist and I make no money writing these stories!**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 28 Mystery Man

Teresa spent a half hour with Laila, going over what Laila had witnessed at the farm. She told Teresa how she had given Patrick water late at night in the barn, when he was strung up by his wrists and could not be set free. She had not seen his other torments with her own eyes, but did see the results of Jane being almost frozen to death out in the small building behind the farmhouse. When she told Teresa about finding Jane apparently dead in the metal chair, blue-skinned, frozen and without a noticeable heartbeat, Teresa let out a gasp of horror and broke down in tears. Patrick had not told her any of this. She was afraid to imagine what else Katarina did do to him that he didn't want her to know. She was so grateful that Laila was brave and ran to the small building, letting in warm air and reviving Patrick as best she could. If she had been caught, there was no guarantee Katarina would not have tortured her too. Brave girl… what horrors she had seen. She took time to compose herself, not wanting to frighten Laila into silence.

Laila told Lisbon that somehow Patrick had managed to pick two locks and set himself free. Lisbon smiled at that information. Jane's lock picking had always pissed her off, but now, thank God, it had been just the thing to give him a chance to run to freedom! It was same story Jane had told her the other night, but Laila added more detail, telling Lisbon about the wild run through the woods until Jane could go no further. Splitting up had been Jane's idea, Laila told Teresa sadly, and for it he got caught and beaten again. Laila explained about finding the shack during the thunderstorm while Jane was out there somewhere in the storm, trying to make it to some kind of safety. Lisbon listened with rapt attention, wondering how Jane had endured the wet and the cold with his injuries. The drunk hunter with the gun was very frightening to Laila and she explained how she had knocked him out and run, gun in hand, until she flagged down a police car, almost scaring the young officer to death.

"He thought I wanted to shoot him Mrs. Jane! I had that gun in my cold hand for so long it was like it was glued there. He could have shot me just when I thought I had made it to freedom!" said Laila, still amazed at how things had turned out.

"What happened when he arrested you?" asked Teresa. "Did he take you to jail in town?"

"No. He radioed that he had caught me, even though I ran to him myself…. and when the news got out, FBI Agent Cho told him to bring me to him and the SWAT team".

Teresa smiled at hearing this. "You know Laila, Agent Cho is one of my best friends! We worked for many many years together before we both ended up working for the FBI. You had nothing to worry about if he was looking after you."

Laila nodded her head. "He really scared me. He looks so serious! But he was honest and told me to just tell him the truth, which I did. I led him to the farmhouse where Katarina had Mr. Jane".

"Laila I don't know all the details, but how did you get shot if you were with Cho? Where were you?" asked Teresa, still uninformed.

"Agent Cho left me in a police car, handcuffed in the back seat, while an officer sat up front. Agent Cho actually apologized for keeping me in handcuffs, and said that he thought all the charges against me would eventually be dropped. Then he and the other FBI guys ran off to raid the farm."

"Yes, but how did you get out into the farm lane?" prodded Teresa.

Laila nodded and continued. "The officer in the front seat was bored and fiddled with his radio and phone while I dozed off. He wasn't really paying attention I guess. Next thing I know, the front door was yanked open and he was pulled out by one of Katarina's men. I recognized the grey man right away! He knocked out the officer and then dragged me out. He made me walk in front of him to his car. I figured he was going to try to take me back to Katarina. When I got a chance, I started to run away from him."

"And then you got shot…." realized Teresa.

"And then I got shot… yes…" sighed Laila. "I ran towards the farm because I knew Agent Cho was there somewhere, and I hoped he could save me. I got as far as the laneway, then boom! I don't remember anything after that."

Teresa took Laila's hand in hers and spoke softly to her. "Cho tried to stop the man with the gun. It was just a split second... the man shot you and was instantly shot by Cho. That man is dead and will never hurt anyone again."

Wiping a tear away from her eye, Laila shook her head in understanding.

"It's OK. I know Agent Cho tried to get to me first. I do believe he saved my life. If he hadn't been there, Katarina's man would have killed me for sure".

The two women sat silently for a few moments, contemplating this series of events. Another question popped into Lisbon's mind.

"The fourth man, the driver of the van in Austin, you didn't see him face to face did you Laila?"

"No, he was behind a black curtain. Otherwise maybe I could identify him" Laila admitted with regret.

"Ok, you didn't see him, but did you hear him? Did he speak at all when you were in the van with Patrick?"

Laila stopped to think about this, trying to remember all that happened in those chaotic moments when she and Patrick were put into the van. Then there was the drive to the airport, what happened then?

"He didn't speak much at all. He was kind of short-tempered, at least that's the impression I got. He only grunted in disapproval if I wasn't moving fast enough, or if I tried to speak".

"Short-tempered how? In what way?" asked Lisbon, looking for anything that could be a clue to the mysterious Karil's identity.

"I got the impression he thought he was much better than us, because he called us stupid Americans, "hlúpe američania", more than once. I still understand some Slovakian, and I did hear him say that!"

"Would you know his voice if you heard it again?"

"I think so, but I hope I never do" said Laila.

Just then the door opened and a doctor came in.

"Oh good, you have a visitor!" he smiled to Laila.

"Should I leave you two alone?" asked Teresa, starting to get out of her chair.

"No no… it's all right. I just have some good news for Ms. Kovac here." The doctor came around the side of the bed and checked the dressing covering the wound. Still very tender and sore, and Laila's arm and shoulder were not moving much yet, not without therapy.

"How would you like to go home in a few days Laila?" asked the doctor. "You are healing very well, and as long as your entry wound does not get infected, there is no reason to keep you. You will need to receive physical therapy as soon as the injury allows it, but that can be done as an outpatient. Sound good?" he asked.

"Yup! Sounds good." she agreed. "How many more days do I have to be here?" she asked, eager to go home right now.

"Whoa whoa…. a few more days at the very least. You'll stay longer if I think you aren't strong enough yet. You need rest just as much as anything else. At your age I am afraid you might overdo it, so you stay right here for a little while longer. Then, we'll discharge you into someone's care. Do you have family you can stay with?" the doctor asked.

Laila looked at Teresa, then back at the doctor. "Ahh, no family at all. It's just me…"

Teresa spoke up. "I am an agent with the FBI. This young lady helped the FBI find my husband when he was kidnapped. You can release her into my care. I will make sure she doesn't over extend herself. Just let me know when she is being released so I can make arrangements" she told the doctor with an attitude that would not allow argument.

"OK then, sounds good!" he agreed happily. Laila was stunned into silence until the doctor left the room.

"You would do that for me? Take care of me?" she wondered.

"Yes… yes I would and I will. But at my stage of pregnancy, I won't be moving too fast myself!" laughed Teresa.

"Well then I guess I will take care of you as well!" smiled Laila broadly, so happy to see a light at the end of the tunnel. So much good news lately! The man who shot her is dead, Katarina is in jail, no criminal charges will be levelled against her, and she can go home with this kind woman in a few days… wow!

Teresa stood up, stretching her sore back. "Now young lady, this pregnant lady has to get going. I'll leave you to rest and look at your magazines". Leaning over to Laila, Teresa looked deeply into her eyes.

"You're going to be Ok. You are a very brave, strong girl, and I am happy to be able to help you get back to your life." With that, she turned for the door, waving goodbye to Laila before she stepped back out into the hall. Now she had to get busy making some arrangements!

XXXXXXX

Cho had gone back to the jail where Katarina was still being temporarily held. Very soon she would have to be transferred to a more secure facility, either in Maine or better yet, in Austin where the actual kidnapping occurred. But first, she needed to be seen by a psychiatrist, to determine her fitness for trial. She just might be sentenced to an institution for the criminally insane instead of going to a regular Federal Prison. No matter what, Cho had to make sure she never tasted freedom again. No one would be safe if that day ever came.

Cho stood outside her jail cell and stared in amazement at the scene inside the bars. Katarina had torn the metal bed completely apart, the sheets pulled off the bed and ripped to shreds, the pillow torn and the foam filling pulled apart into little bits and pieces. The blanket was also torn, the threads unravelled and thrown around the small space. Katarina sat on the floor in a huff, demanding sheets with a much higher thread count as these hurt her delicate skin. And where were her fine clothes? she yelled. This orange jumpsuit was totally unacceptable! She ranted to no one in particular, then would stop and listen, agreeing with the invisible sympathetic guest she was conversing with. Yes, the room was terrible, and oh yes, don't even mention the food, totally unacceptable! She would check out of this hotel first thing in the morning! Cho watched her deteriorating mental condition with a mix of emotions. He dearly wanted to see her punished, but he wanted it to mean something to her. If her mind had gone, would she really be punished if she didn't know she was in prison? It was an odd question to ponder. Sighing at her, wanting her to suffer, he turned and left to make arrangements for the transfer of his prisoner. Miroslav had to go to another more secure facility as well. Maybe they would both go to Austin.

Cho left the area where Katarina sulked in her cell, and when he had gone, she got up from the floor and leaned against the bars of her cell, smiling broadly. This game was actually lots of fun, she thought to herself. She never knew she was such a good actress.

XXXXXXX

While Teresa was visiting with Laila, Patrick's shoulders had been examined by a new doctor to see if the tendons were torn. If so, surgery would be needed. After much painful twisting and lifting of his arms, prodding and portable x-rays, it was determined that the muscles were severely overtaxed, bruised and injured, but no tears or separations were detected. So, no surgery needed! That was good news he would be happy to share with Lisbon when she got back. Patrick was on his best behaviour, trying not to lie to the doctors about feeling better than he really did. That was the old Patrick. Now he needed to get well so that he would be the best husband and father he could be when his baby boy was born, so he swallowed his natural inclination to complain and be uncooperative. For that, he felt proud of himself!

Suppertime had arrived, and his door opened with a nurse bringing him his first real meal in well over a week. Patrick looked at the jug of mush she had placed in front of him in disappointment. It was something pureed so finely that it could be sucked up through a straw into his mouth. He was no longer needing to be fed intravenously since he was now awake and cognizant of his surroundings. But really, who could swallow this stuff? He picked it up and gave it a sniff. Under no circumstances could he call that odour food-like. Maybe plankton, seaweed, protein powder, liquid eggs or dairy powder was in the mix somewhere, but he was damned if he would be able to get that down his throat. But with tea his only other choice, he would soon be stick thin and under attack from Teresa and the doctor. He wasn't sure which was the scarier prospect, lecture-wise! He glumly put the drink-like substance down on his table and pushed it aside. As he did, his stomach grumbled angrily. God he wanted to go home and just eat eggs, and chicken, veggies and rice, spicy food like Thai and Tex-Mex. Oh for a breakfast taco from Torchy's! But they don't even have those in Maine he had to remind himself. Another good reason to go back to Austin! However, until his jaw was better, he was faced with this horrible dreck in the beaker in front of him. Sighing in resignation, and to please his beloved wife, he picked the concoction up and took a slurp through the big straw. And another. Hmmm… not sooo bad. Another…. was there a mushed strawberry or two in there somewhere? Sure didn't look like it from the greyish colour of the stuff. Another slurp and he was not hating it at all. Ok, time to change his mind about this protein shake, if that is in fact what it was. It was not bad at all! He realized how much he had missed flavours in his mouth after more than a week with no food. He hungrily finished the shake and could have had another. Things were looking up! Just then there was a knock on the door and Phil, the orderly, stuck his head in.

"Mind if I take your laundry and your cup if you are finished?" he asked Jane.

Patrick smiled and nodded OK, handing his beaker over to the tall man. Karil smiled back and grabbed the laundry bin, before returning to the door.

"Feeling better today Sir?" he asked conversationally.

Jane gave him the thumbs up signal and smiled back amiably. He supposed the orderly was sucking up since Lisbon yelled at him earlier for barging in unannounced. Phil left and Patrick was once again alone. His pain level had gone down in the last 12 hours, even though his ribs complained every time he moved to get more comfortable. His knee was tightly braced so at least it did not hurt too badly unless he moved it too much. Although he hated the idea of surgery, he dearly wanted to get his knee fixed as it would bring him that much closer to flying home to Austin and his little house by the pond. Cards of good wishes for a speedy recovery had come in from Grace and Wayne Rigsby, so obviously Cho had kept them in the loop. Jane was bored. He was not desperately ill anymore, but he certainly couldn't fend for himself either. His doctor had told him that if he continued to make such good progress, he could be moved down to a regular medical floor until his surgery took place in a few more days. Then at least he would be able to receive more visitors instead of just Cho and Lisbon. Speaking of Lisbon, where was she? She had been with him as much as the staff would allow, but she had said she was going to go and visit Laila for a while across town. He wanted to see Laila too. The last time he had seen her it was in the woods, as she ran away from him to try to find help. That seemed so very long ago now.

XXXXXXX

Austin Texas

Wylie was almost ready to go home for the day when an alarm on his computer drew his attention to the data filling his screen. A smile broke out on his face and he grabbed his phone. This was a call he was hoping to make.

"Cho" said the clipped voice on the other end of the line.

"Hey Cho, it's Wylie. I just got the report from Interpol regarding those fingerprints you took off the dead guy out at the farm in Maine. They had to do a lot of digging to find the perp, but eventually they got a hit".

"So who is he?" asked Cho, glad to finally put a name to the body.

"Name's Luka Maco. Small-time hood, mostly arrested in his hometown in Slovakia. Break and enter, intimidation, assault, drug dealing, car theft, you know , the usual. No major crimes but he is a known associate of Jan Nemic - no big surprise there".

"Any other associations? Can we put him with the fourth guy Karil?" asked Cho.

'I'm working on that, but so far nothing has come up, sorry Cho. As soon as I get a hit, I'll let you know".

"Ok, thanks Wylie".

Wylie loaded a search program into his computer and then headed home for the night.

XXXXXX

Cho was glad to finally put a name to the guy lying in the morgue. If they could find a close link between Luka and a thug named Karil, they might get lucky and get a photo off the internet of their mystery man. That would go a long way towards finding him before he found Jane and the others.

XXXXXX


	29. Meet Mr Packovski

**Thank you to everyone who wrote reviews for the last chapter. I'll try to get back to each and every one of you!**

 **Disclaimer: Bruno Heller owns the Mentalist and I make no money writing these stories!**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 29 Meet Mr. Packovski

Teresa was on her way back to the hospital when a sharp pain hit her full force. Sarah was driving and was unaware that her companion was in distress. Teresa didn't know what labour felt like and wasn't sure that this was it, so she was not going to get excited, not yet. Maybe it was all the stress of the last week? Little sleep and irregular meals were making Lisbon very tired of late, so maybe that was a contributor to her feeling unwell. A few more miles went by and suddenly Teresa doubled over in pain, this time in full view of Sarah.

"What's wrong? Are you OK?" asked Sarah with concern.

Teresa bit her lip in concentration, and the pain disappeared again. Breaking out in a sweat, she turned to Sarah wide-eyed.

"I'm not sure. I just had two really big pains, one in the front and one in my back. God I hope it isn't labour yet! I still have a few weeks to go!" she said in distress.

"Look, we are on our way to the hospital to see your husband anyway, why not just let a doctor check you out and then you can stop worrying, one way or the other. Then you can relax" suggested the ever cool Sarah.

Lisbon looked worried, not because she was afraid of labour, but she wanted Jane there with her, at her side, to help her and also for him to experience this wonderful moment with her. 'Please not now…' she prayed.

When they arrived at the hospital Sarah guided Teresa into the ER and explained the reason they were there. They were directed to the chairs to wait to be called. Upstairs, Patrick waited patiently for his wife to come back from the other hospital. Their thoughts were always for each other.

XXXXXX

Karil had seen Teresa leave but not return. The other bodyguard, Sarah, also was gone. There was just one guard on Jane's door and he was clearly bored out of his mind. The ICU was as busy as ever, but because Jane was no longer critically ill, the nursing staff had finally stopped coming into his room every 10 minutes. Karil smiled at this alignment of the stars so to speak. This was his first opportunity to get to Jane since he arrived nearly dead days ago. There would be no better time to make his move. Now to get the guard out of the way. Karil poured a cup of tea and a cup of coffee in the staff coffee room, adding a mild sedative to both of them, then he sauntered down the hall and stopped at Jane's door. The guard was well used to seeing "Phil" come and go into the room, so thought nothing of it. Karil entered Jane's room and put the cup of tea on the table in front of his enemy, who was dozing in boredom. He left noisily, making sure Jane would be disturbed at the sound. Once outside, he handed the cup of

coffee to the guard.

"Here, looks like you could use this. Pretty boring job eh?" he said, giving it to the grateful man.

"Yeah, really boring. Sounds so exciting, guarding someone, but after a while it is just the same old same old, day in and day out. Nothing happens and it's boring as hell."

"So have a coffee, maybe the caffeine will help keep you awake!" laughed the kind orderly.

"Thanks man!" said the guard, taking a big swig of the hot liquid. Karil busied himself in the department, keeping an eye on the guard. Within minutes, his eyes started to droop, and he sat down on his chair, valiantly trying to stay awake. Karil watched as the guard slowly started to fade into a deep sleep. Then he walked back to Jane's room and strolled right in, hoping to see the same going on inside.

Patrick had awakened at the sound of someone leaving the room, and was pleasantly surprised to see a nice cup of tea sitting on his table. He was sure that if Teresa had brought it she would have stayed. Must have been that nice new student nurse who was so kind to him. She knew he loved tea. Yes… must have been her. He took several long sips of the nectar, letting it soothe and refresh him. A good cup of tea, like a hug in a mug…. how he loved to say that to people who would not try tea. Another good swig of it and he was feeling mellow. Where was Teresa? He wanted to tell her the good news about his shoulder not needing surgery. A wave of tiredness swept over him and he took another big drink of tea, hoping the caffeine would perk him up. As he was finishing the cup, "Phil" the orderly came through the door. Funny that he neglected to knock this time Jane noted in his fuzzy brain. Teresa would have been ticked off…

His hand relaxed around the cup, letting it fall onto the table. His head lolled back and he hit the pillow, out cold. The orderly stepped up to the bed and removed the tray table. Jane's eyes were closed and he was breathing evenly, calmly, unaware of Karil's presence. Karil lifted an eyelid and Jane's eyes were rolled up in a sedated slumber.

Time to get going.

Karil put the bars up on both sides of the bed, put the head of the bed down flat and covered Jane up with a sheet to his chin. Next he propped open the door. Taking the brakes off the bed, he began to push it towards the door. He got halfway out of the door when the perky young student nurse appeared around the corner. The bed hid the sleeping guard, who was sitting down and out of sight.

"Can I help you with the bed?" she asked "Phil'.

"That would be great!" he said, trying to sound happy about her intervention. "I need to get Mr. Jane downstairs for an ultrasound" he lied.

The student helped the orderly pull the bed down the hall towards the back elevator, the one they put patient beds into instead of the public elevator out front. This was working out beautifully Karil thought. Now just get to the elevator before the battle axe supervisor sees them and he would be on his way with his victim.

The nurse hit the button and helped Karil slide the bed into the large elevator space.

"Thank you so much. I've got it from here" said the orderly.

"No problem!" replied the young woman, glad to be of help. She turned and went back to her work, unaware that she had just given that nice Mr. Jane into the hands of a killer.

XXXXXXXX

Teresa was getting agitated. The pains had stopped and she wanted to go upstairs to tell Patrick about her visit with Laila. This was taking too long. She got up and started to walk out when Sarah stopped her.

"Teresa, please stay. Get checked out. You don't want to go into labour when you leave here tonight do you? If you are in labour, we are already here."

"But no one is coming and I need to go see Jane!" groused Lisbon.

"OK, leave it to me. I can get pretty official when the need arises!" smiled Sarah, and off she went, badge in hand, to find a doctor to attend to Teresa. Ten minutes later, Sarah returned with a red-faced young doctor trailing behind her.

"I am so sorry Agent Jane, there must have been a mix-up somewhere. We don't like to keep our mothers-to-be waiting" he apologized. God only knew what Agent Sarah of the FBI had told him, but now he could not do enough. Teresa was escorted to an examining room while Sarah waited outside the door, ever vigilant. She also hoped it was false labour. Mr. Jane needed to be with his wife when she delivered their little boy. They deserved that special moment.

At last the curtain opened and the doctor emerged smiling and relieved to be getting far away from two FBI agents. Sarah entered the small room to find Lisbon buttoning up her long maternity top.

"Well? Is it baby time yet?" she asked with a grin.

Teresa smiled and shook her head, no. "False labour. The doctor told me I needed to eat and sleep more. Good luck to that with all that is happening right now!"

"Well I can't make you sleep, but I can feed you. Have your visit with your husband, then how about we go out for a nice supper, then off to bed with you!" ordered Sarah.

"Yes mother!" laughed Teresa. She was so relieved it had been false labour. She needed to just hold on a bit longer, till everyone was safe and back in Austin. Please baby Jane, cooperate!

Sarah and Lisbon took the elevator up to the 4th floor. They walked down the hall and when they rounded the corner, they saw the guard snoozing in his chair. Both women immediately were stunned at his lack of professionalism. Kicking him in the shin to wake him, Sarah barked at him to get up! Instead of leaping up in fear, the guard merely slumped over and fell out of his chair. Lisbon's eyes grew as large as saucers as a cold chill struck her to her core. Not waiting for Sarah, she bolted for the door and ran into Patrick's room, followed closely by Sarah, gun drawn. What she saw stopped Lisbon dead in her tracks. Her husband was gone. The whole bed was gone! Sarah ran out of the room and down the hall to the nurses station. Flashing her badge she demanded to know where Mr. Jane had been taken. The nurses were startled by the agent's aggressive manner and jumped up to check his medical records and scheduled treatments. Teresa came huffing up the hall and stood red-faced next to Sarah, sadly regretting not having her gun on her hip right then.

"Get a nurse to my husband's room. The guard is drugged!" she panted. A frightened nurse took off running in that direction while the other nurses looked concerned at the possibility of a breach of security.

"There is nothing in Mr. Jane's chart about treatments tonight. He should be resting in his bed this evening. Why, what is wrong, is he ill?" asked the nurse, looking up from the computer screen.

"Mr. Jane is missing. The room is empty and his bed is also gone! What the hell is going on here?" yelled Sarah. The assembled nurses gasped at this news, not sure what to say or do next.

Just then the young student nurse, Michelle, came around the corner with curiosity. She had been with a patient and heard the commotion at the end of the hall.

"Are you wondering where Mr. Jane went?" she asked, happy to be in the know.

Teresa rounded on the young woman and demanded an explanation for his empty room.

"It's OK! He's been taken downstairs for an ultrasound. I helped the orderly take the bed to the elevator about 35 minutes ago. Why, what's the matter?" she asked innocently.

The head nurse looked ashen as the reality of the situation now revealed itself to her.

"But no tests were scheduled for Mr. Jane. He should not have been taken or moved. The orderly lied to you!" she told the nurse. The student took a step back, the news like a slap to the face.

"Oh God, no…" cried Lisbon, reeling at the realization that Patrick had been taken from under their noses. "It was him… the fourth man… Sarah, he got him!" she shouted.

Sarah took off running while Lisbon was given a chair. Taking her phone out of her bag with shaking fingers she dialed Cho. Everything had just gone to hell.

XXXXXXX

Wylie had been home for just a short time, having stopped for pizza on the way. He had just gotten settled with a beer in hand, looking forward to a leisurely night in when he heard an alarm on his home computer. He had so many projects on the go at the moment, he would have to scroll down his task list to see what had set off the alarm. He hoped it was worth interrupting beer and pizza! After searching for a few minutes, he found a file telling him that the program he had loaded into his laptop at work had received a hit. Groaning at having to check it out just as he was reaching for his pizza, he took a large slice in his hands and hunkered down to see what the wonders of the internet had revealed. A moment later he let out a whoop of excitement, eyes scanning the screen at the information Cho had so desperately needed. Staring back at Wylie was a crisp black and white photo of Karil Packovski, the mysterious fourth grey man.

XXXXXXX

Cho was at a diner trying to relax and decompress after another frustrating day here in Maine. He needed to get back to Austin, but until he could tie things up here, he was loath to leave just yet. He had just finished off his fish and chips when his cell phone rang. Wylie's face showed on the screen. 'Hmm.. wonder what he's discovered' smiled Cho to himself.

"Cho here. What ya got for me Wylie?"

"Cho! I've got our fourth man! His name is Karil Packovski, a known associate of Luka Maco. They went to the same small school back in Slovakia, then there are a few arrests for burglary, assault, car theft, armed robbery, the usual laundry list of charges. They seemed to work as a team".

"I need a photo Wylie, along with the name. Can you find a photo?" Cho asked with excitement.

"I'm sending it now!" said Wylie with glee. This was the best part of his job, finding the needle in the haystack.

Cho sat staring into space, waiting for the photo to drop into his phone. They had him! A name and a photo. "C'mon, c'mon…" he mumbled, willing the photo to materialize. At last! A ding alerted him that the photo file had been loaded, and a moment later Cho was staring at the face of Karil Packovski. Even though the photo was clearly at least 20 years old, it showed him as described: black hair and goatee, fair skin, lots of tacky gold jewellery on his fingers and around his neck. He must have been a real disco charmer back in the day. Cho got back on his phone with Wylie, his next request already in his mind.

"Wylie, I need you to change this photo, using that program you have at the office. Change the hair, the beard, do anything you can so we can see what this guy could look like with new hair color, no hair, you name it. We have to assume he has radically changed his look and I need it yesterday - got that? Thanks Wylie!"

Cho hung up, staring at the photo of the phantom they had been searching for. 'Just wait til I find you, you bastard… ' Cho reached for his coffee, pulling out some bills to pay just as his phone rang again.

"Cho here" he deadpanned.

"Cho, it's Teresa! He got him!" she wept into the phone.

"Hold on, slow down. What is going on Teresa. What happened?" he asked, a bad feeling hitting him, replacing the elation he had felt only moments ago.

"Cho, while Sarah and I were out, an orderly took Jane for an ultrasound test, except no tests were scheduled for Patrick. Cho, what if it is the guy we have been looking for?"

"Teresa, calm down. Maybe there has been a mistake made and he is just off for tests. Has anybody gone to the ultrasound department looking for Jane? He might fine".

'Yes Cho, that's what Sarah checked out first and he wasn't there. Cho, the guard outside of Jane's room was drugged. We found him unconscious in his chair".

Cho stood up and started to run for his car. "Lisbon, stay calm, I'm on my way. Keep an eye on the guard as he is an eyewitness. Anyone else we can interview who saw what happened?"

"Ah… yes.. ahh.. a student nurse. She actually helped the orderly move Jane's bed into the elevator."

"Get her into a room and keep her there so I can interview her. Don't let anyone leave. We'll find him Teresa. Be strong". He rang off and leapt into his SUV, tearing out of the parking lot leaving a cloud of dust streaming out behind his speeding vehicle. This was the worst case scenario, the worst possible outcome, the one he had feared the most. Grabbing his phone he started to call his team together, barking out orders as he sped away to the Trauma Centre, his mind going off in all directions as he made his plans to mobilize his men and find Jane.

XXXXXXX

Wylie ran the program to alter the photo of Karil. His home office was just as good as the one back at the FBI office. He could access all of his programs here so he got down to it and sat back waiting for the results to accumulate. Munching on his pizza, he had no idea that Jane was missing and that time was of the essence. His contribution to the team was now critical, as his results would give the FBI a final, accurate profile of their wanted man. It took a good 10 minutes, but finally the program tinged, telling Wylie all possible combinations had been compiled. He scanned the assorted photos and marvelled at how a person could change his appearance. Wylie forwarded the entire file to Cho's phone, hoping he had somewhere to print off the results.

XXXXX

Cho pulled into the parking lot and raced for the hospital entrance, flashing his badge in the face of the astonished security guard. He ran to the elevators, jabbing the button and cursing when the elevator slowly descended from the topmost floor, stopping at every other floor on its' way back to the first level. The doors slid open and Cho lunged inside.

"Sorry folks, take the next one!" he barked at the other waiting passengers, flashing his badge at them to keep them out of the lift. The doors slid closed and Cho ascended to the fourth floor.

As he got off the elevator his phone vibrated with a large file. He stopped for a moment and opened it. There in front of him was an variety of Karils. Each one looked slightly different. Running to the nurses station he commandeered a computer and downloaded the file, sending it to the printer. As pages started to stream out of the machine, Sarah walked up the the nurses station and stood waiting to talk to Cho.

Cho grabbed the two pages of likenesses and stood up to get up to speed with Sarah.

"Where's the girl?" he asked.

"This way. She's pretty shook up. She feels like she helped a crime take place."

"She did". Cho answered shortly, not happy about how easily Karil had slipped through their fingers.

The student nurse, Michelle, was sitting quietly in a small room, avoiding looking at Teresa, who was in her own private hell at the moment. Both women were startled when Cho barrelled into the room. He walked right up to Michelle and stood over her, intimidating in his anger.

"I am Senior Agent Kimball Cho of the Austin FBI. Speak to me. What happened?"

Michelle shrank back in her chair, looking like she was about to be arrested, such was her fear.

"I… I just helped the orderly like I am supposed to. He was struggling to get Mr. Jane's bed out of the doorway and down to the patient elevator, so I offered to help him." she said tearfully.

"Didn't it occur to you to check and see if Mr. Jane was supposed to be moved? Did it occur to you that it was odd to do tests so late in the day?" he boomed.

The girl shook her head in confusion, distraught at her horrible mistake.

"I'm so sorry… I just started here and I am not sure about procedures. I thought he was supposed to be moved if the orderly was already half way through the door with the patient. I mean, why would he move him if he didn't have to?" she asked, clearly having no idea what was at stake.

Cho pulled up a chair, some of his hostility diffused and replaced by dogged professionalism.

"If I show you some photos, could you identify the man who took Mr. Jane?" he asked.

'Oh I know who took him sir. It was Phil Burk. The orderly, Phil." she said with conviction.

Teresa stood up, confused. She knew Phil, saw him several times a day. If he was actually Karil….

"What does he look like, do you see him in one of these photos?" Cho asked her, pulling out his copy of the pictures Wylie had just sent over.

Teresa and Michelle both poured over the photos and almost at once, both put their fingers on a photo halfway down the page, showing a man with no beard, and short sandy brown hair.

"That's him! That's Phil Burk!" the student nurse exclaimed with excitement. Teresa looked at Cho with a sick feeling coming over her. The bastard had been in the room with them, watching them, talking to them for almost a week. She thought she would throw up and had to sit down. Sarah came and stood by her, holding her shoulders and embracing her in a soft hug.

"We need to talk to HR about this guy, get someone up here immediately!' said Cho. Sarah got on her phone and placed the call. 5 minutes later a very worried man was ushered into the room with an armload of files in his hand.

'Tell me about Phil Burk. When was he hired, were does he live. We need everything you have on him" Cho told the man.

Mr. Colborne opened his files and scanned them alphabetically, shaking his head, no… no… no. Then he had an idea, and turned to another file. He ran his finger down another list and then stopped, his finger next to a name, a look of dread on his face.

"Well?" asked Cho.

"We do not have anyone working here at the Trauma Centre by the name of Phil Burk. We did hire some new people about a week ago, and there was a Phil Burk on the list to be interviewed, but he never showed up. So we took him off the list of applicants and put him down as a no-show. We have never hired this man." he said with finality.

"But he has been here as long as Patrick has been in ICU, he had a uniform and a hospital ID badge… " said Teresa numbly.

"I'm very sorry, but we did not hire this man. He is an imposter." said Mr. Colborne.

Cho pulled out his phone and called up his team leader. He forwarded the photo of Karil as he now looked and ordered it to be sent to everyone in the field. They now knew who they were looking for and his real name.

But just where he and Jane were, was anybody's guess.

XXXXXX


	30. Tunnel Rat

**Thank you to everyone who wrote reviews for the last chapter. I'll try to get back to each and every one of you!**

 **Disclaimer: Bruno Heller owns the Mentalist and I make no money writing these stories!**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 30 Tunnel Rat

Cho set up a command post in an unused conference room on the first floor of the Trauma Centre. The list of tasks his men had to accomplish was long but followed an established protocol. The cups used by Jane and the guard had been bagged and sent off for analysis. Cho needed to know what the men had ingested in case it was toxic. The cups would also be dusted for fingerprints, although it was a slam dunk that their man was Karil. The security tapes had been gathered from the floor and every other floor to see when and how often their man showed himself. If he had a pattern to his comings and goings, the FBI would soon know that too. The most pressing question remained. Where would you take a full-sized intensive care bed with a sleeping man in it in this hospital without being seen and reported? Where could Jane be?

Cho asked for and received the architectural blueprints for the building and spread them out on the long table. Surrounded by agents, he poured over the pages of drawings trying to see what the kidnapper saw - a way to stash a body in a bed literally in minutes. Karil had at least a 35 minute head start and so could be anywhere by now. Had he abandoned the bed and taken Jane out of the building? Was Jane in a car trunk being driven ever farther away from the scene of the crime? If the drug in the tea was as strong as the one given to the guard, then Jane would still be out cold and easy to maneuver out of the building. Or was Jane already dead, and his location not important to Karil anymore? If that was the case, the body would soon be found. So why take Jane in the bed? Why use that elevator? Where did that elevator go? What was on each floor where that elevator could stop? Team members were dispatched to find an answer to each and every question.

Teresa was beside herself with worry and was being cared for by an obstetrician, who feared her blood pressure would soar and endanger her unborn baby. An emergency with the pregnant Agent was the last thing the hospital and the FBI wanted. The entire building was on

limited lockdown, a tricky thing considering the nature of the hospital. The worst medical emergencies still had to be brought here, so traffic in and out had to be monitored and checked but not completely impeded. Visitors in the building were being vetted, so they could be released as their identities were verified. Staff could not leave in case Karil had an inside accomplice. And so it went, the endless tasks necessary to secure the building and find Jane as soon as possible.

Cho was running on adrenaline, pumped up with nerves and anger, disgusted that this had happened on his watch. If anything happened to Patrick Jane now, he would never be able to forgive himself.

XXXXXXX

Karil watched the elevator doors slide shut and turned to the body in the bed. Jane was sleeping soundly, unaware that upon awakening, he would be facing a whole new reality. Karil laughed softly as he stared into Jane's peaceful face, thinking how stupid these so called intelligent Americans were. They had not stopped him from kidnapping their man, hell, one of the nurses even helped! Geez it was perfect! The elevator continued on its' way downward, uninterrupted by any other calls this late in the evening. After a minute or two, the bell dinged signalling that the lift had reached bottom. It was just a matter of time before Agents would be descending this elevator to see where it went, but by then it wouldn't matter any more.

Karil stepped out of the lift and pulled the bed out. He was in a broad hallway in a sub-basement, dimly lit by a few wall sconces every 30 feet or so. The hallway was not for patient traffic, just maintenance workers or sanitation crews. In truth, no one ever came down this far. It was a remnant of the original old hospital. Unused storage rooms lined the walls further down the hall, and it was in that direction that Karil pulled the bed. He had already deactivated any security cameras that might be down there, but they were few and far between. Karil arrived at the end of the hall and faced an old wide door, unused these days. Few people working in the hospital even took notice of this old painted-over door, assuming it led to nowhere now. The door had been impossible to open, the paint layers thick and well stuck around the edges to the trim surrounding it. Many days earlier, Karil had taken a sharp knife and worked at the paint, scoring it multiple times to loosen it and allow him entry. When no cry came up through the levels of security, he knew no one had even noticed the damage to the edge of the door. So far, so good.

Karil unlocked the door with a skeleton key and switched on a brilliant lantern, setting it down for a moment while he pulled the bed through the doorway. Once through, he bolted the door shut and disappeared. Standing in the light, he reached for a wheelchair just inside the door and put down the side rails of the bed. Using his height to his advantage, Karil picked up Jane and half carried, half dragged him out of the bed and dropped him into the waiting wheelchair. Once Jane was all the way in it, zip ties came out of Karil's pocket and Jane's wrists and his left ankle were secured to the metal frame of the chair. His right knee was still braced, and useless. It hung lifelessly down from the seat of the chair, no doubt sending screaming pain messages to Jane's brain. When he woke up he would feel each and every jolt of agony it produced. Jane's head hung limply against his chest, his breathing steady but laboured at the odd angle of his body. The air here was heavy with dust and god knew what else time had created. There was a damp chill clinging to the walls and it made Karil's clothes clammy in a very short time. Jane was wearing just a short sleeved hospital gown and a loose pair of boxers, which he had insisted upon having while in bed. He still had some dignity left even in his current helpless state. Bare feet hung slightly off the foot pedals of the wheelchair and were soon black with dirt and dust.

Karil proceeded to push the wheelchair through a large dank room, mostly empty save for some very old newspapers, garbage bins and rats scurrying around in the dark. There was another door on the far side of the wall and he soon got busy opening that one as well. It took much longer this time to breech the ancient door, but in time it creaked open and Karil looked into the void, holding up his lantern to see what lay ahead. A few feet in front of him the concrete floor turned into paving stones, very old and cracked, uneven and in some cases, turning to powder as he stepped on them. The floor sloped downwards and he had to hold onto the wall with one hand while he guided the wheelchair with his other hand. The incline continued until he had descended a good 15 feet lower than the room left behind. A passageway to the left led him to a fork in the tunnel. He had studied the architectural plans for the hospital, but then realized that something else must have been on this spot once long ago. The internet had told the history of the town surrounding the Trauma Centre, and he had discovered that more than 150 years ago, this had been the County Seat, the place where all court cases were heard for miles around. It was wide open territory back then, lawless and in need of strong Judges and even stronger Sheriffs to carry out the law. So on this land had stood a Courthouse, next to it a jail, and next to that, the Sheriff's office. The Sheriff arrested you, you went next door to wait in jail and ended up next door in the Courthouse. So convenient! But many many years ago all of those ancient buildings had been bulldozed to make way for a shiny new hospital in the modern age. And so no one remembered the original buildings or their labyrinthine basements, joining all three buildings together by underground tunnels. Karil had researched it and knew exactly how and where to disappear. He continued along the passageway and took a turn to the right, leaving the tunnel in total darkness behind him. The sounds of living things scurrying around him gave him the creeps, but he continued on his way, sure of his destination. 15 minutes later he had taken many twists and turns in his trip through the tunnel until he found himself in front of an old wooden door, hung on rusty, decaying hinges. With very little effort he broke open the door and advanced, pushing the wheelchair with Jane in it through the small opening.

Karil looked around and knew he had come the right way. He was standing in a long narrow room filled with old wooden boxes and hooks on the walls. This was the storage facility for the jail, the place to put contraband confiscated from thieves and and scoundrels. Anything and everything had once been stored in this windowless cavern. A set of crumbling stairs on the other side of the room showed Karil where the Sheriff or his deputies would have come down and placed the goods in the space below the jail.

Jane was starting to move around and moan his discomfort. Karil put him in the centre of the room and turned the lantern around to face his prisoner. Jane lifted his head and slowly moved it around, trying to get the drugged heaviness out of his mind. He was cold and his skin felt damp. His knee was sending daggers of pain up through his thigh into his hip, a constant thrum of complaints from the torn and dislocated joint. He slowly opened his eyes and only saw a brilliant light blinding him, everything around it cast into total darkness. He could not make out anything due to the brightness of the light. He tried to lift his hand to shield his eyes, but found it tied to the arm of the wheelchair. His leg was similarly restrained. 'Oh God... not again….'

A swell of panic hit him as he realized his worst fears once more. He swallowed with difficulty and had to use every biofeedback trick he knew to keep from crying out.

"Who's there?" he croaked, his sore jaw preventing him from shouting. There was no reply.

"Who's there?" Jane tried to sound confident, feeling anything but.

"I didn't get here by myself, so show yourself and tell me what you want" he tried again. Still no response. Jane tried to look around, but outside of the circle of light the room was pitch black. He was aware that he was being watched. He sat perfectly still and listened, trying to hear something that he might recognize; a car, or engine; a voice or radio… anything to indicate where he might be. The silence was complete. After a few minutes he thought he heard feet shift in the loose dirt on the floor. And then the lantern was lifted up and carried out of the room. Patrick was in complete and utter darkness, the silence and cold terrifying in its' claustrophobic oppression. The feeling of panic gathered in Jane's chest, pushing down on his lungs and squeezing them into spasms, until he could not suck in air fast enough. He had to stop or he would hyperventilate. Shutting his eyes against the dark, he imagined himself in a chair at home, cooled by the night air. Keeping his eyes closed actually helped, as it gave him a feeling of control. ' I am in the dark because I choose to be in the dark; my eyes are closed because I want them to be closed.' It was illogical thought but it helped him calm down. Just what the hell was going on he wondered. He knew that Katarina's grey man Karil had him. So why was he still alive? Why not just kill him and get away before anyone could find him? Jane was thinking rationally. He had to stop that and start to think irrationally, like Katarina and her follower Karil did.

Jane remained still in his wheelchair, listening for any sound that would be useful to him. What he heard 10 minutes after Karil left was horrific instead.

Rats.

The sound of tiny feet scurrying around the perimeter of the room made the hair on Patrick's arms stand up. Rats…. of course they would call this horrible place home. Sweat broke out on Patrick's face as he turned his head to the left and right, trying to hone in on the sound of the furry invaders. Were they staying on the far side of the room or were they creeping closer? Jane searched his memory palace to remember what he had read about feral rat behaviour. In every rat burrow there would be one dominant, alpha male. All other males and females would be subservient to this king rat. He was the one Jane had to scare off to keep all of them at bay. In order to determine which rat was in control, Jane needed to observe their behaviour, but that was impossible in the darkness. If the king rat decided to run up Jane's leg and start chewing on his fingers or neck or God forbid, his face, all the others would soon join in on the fun. Jane fought against his zip-tied restraints, only cutting himself with their sharp edges and making no progress. He put his lame right leg down on the ground and tried to push himself away from the middle of the room but the pain it engendered stopped that idea immediately. He panted from the exertion and had to do better. He had to be king rat.

The noise of the rodents had stopped while he struggled against his restraints. If his movements scared them, he would have to keep moving and making noise to keep them away. The biggest danger to his safety was sleep. Rats will often wait until their object of desire is asleep, then will attack and bite. So, no sleeping until he was rescued. Patrick shifted in his chair, wiggled around, and rocked the chair back and forth as far as he could manage in his restrained condition. The rats stayed back, confused by this strange apparition.

Jane became hyper-aware, on high alert for any noise coming from the rodents surrounding his chair. If he felt they were gaining confidence in their ability to get closer, he started yelling and singing, rocking his chair to keep them off-balance. This was working but could not go on indefinitely. It was exhausting. It hurt his jaw like hell to yell. Where had Karil gone?

20 minutes later Jane heard footsteps and the light reappeared. He glanced downwards and saw his furry audience quickly dash back into the shadows. Good. At least Karil was useful for something.

"Miss me?" Karil asked cheerfully.

"I sure did" Jane replied as calmly as possible.

"I was laying down some false tracks. Now the police will have many many wheelchair tracks to follow down the tunnels and into dead ends. I wish them luck on their travels!" he snorted with derision.

Of course. Wheelchairs left tracks in the dust down here. His alone would lead the FBI straight to Karil and Jane. Now they had to follow every single track to find the right tunnel.

"So what is the plan? Where are we going now?" asked Jane, hoping this was not his final destination.

Karil walked over through the beam of light and smacked Jane up the side of his head, and returned to the far side of the light.

Jane saw stars, his head snapping back and wrenching his already sensitive jaw. The rings recently added to Karil's fingers left a ragged large cut in his scalp, warm blood dripping down into Jane's ear and down his pajama top.

"No questions. Shut up!" was his answer to Jane. Jane shut his eyes against the pain and had to rethink his strategy to engage this monster in talk. Several minutes passed in tense silence.

Karil came back into the circle of light and stood in front of his prisoner, smiling malevolently, fingering something in his pocket. Stepping closer, he squatted down and reached for Jane's left hand, twisting it around in the zip tie and putting the hand palm up. Without saying a word, he took a small object out of his pocket and brought it up to Jane's face, grinning in delight as his captive tried to comprehend what was going on.

"See this?" he asked.

Jane guessed he was supposed to play along.

"Yes" he answered cautiously.

"What is it?" asked Karil.

The object was small and shiny but instantly recognizable.

"A syringe" answered Jane with trepidation.

"What's in it?" Karil continued his quizz.

Jane studied the barrel of the syringe and could not detect any kind of liquid in it at all.

"Nothing. It's empty" he replied, knowing somehow it would be the wrong answer.

"Errrrrhhh! Wrong!" Karil yelled, punching Jane in his midsection.

Jane's head flew forward with the force of the blow, gasping and wheezing as he tried to breathe, his gut screaming in renewed pain. The old bruising was freshly assaulted.

'This syringe is far from empty you idiot!" said Karil with undisguised hatred. "It is quite full. Full of air Mr. Jane." Taking Jane's arm he smacked the crook of his elbow several times and saw a vein pop up, a fat thread of life in the cold arm. Placing the tip of the needle against Jane's vein, he pressed slightly downwards, but not enough to pierce the skin. Jane dared not move.

"Who needs drugs or poison when you have all the air in the room Mr. Jane? If I pull this plunger back and depress it, what will happen next?" he grinned with evil knowledge.

Jane saw the tip of the needle pressing into his skin and knew the answer.

"Well - what is the answer Mr. FBI man? Huh?" yelled Karil, the needle pressing ever deeper against the soft skin of Jane's inner arm, causing a small drop of blood to appear.

"If you inject air into a vein, the air will travel along the vein until it hits the heart or the brain. The patient dies instantly from an aneurysm" Jane whispered, fearing his imminent death.

"Give the man a cigar! Right answer!" screamed Karil, lifting up the syringe and recapping it, then putting it back into his pocket.

"So now you know don't you?" smiled Karil crazily. "You know that I can just blow you away with a puff of air anytime I choose, understand my friend?" he said softly, his face inches away from Jane's haggard face. Straightening up, he strutted back outside the circle of light into the shadows again.

"Keep in mind who is in control now my friend. It isn't you, or your FBI wife, or the whole FBI force. It is me and only me" he explained to his prisoner.

Jane looked out into the darkness in the direction of the voice and didn't dare speak again. Those were the rules. Breaking them just might get him killed.

XXXXXXXXX


	31. Change of Plans

**Be prepared, this chapter will be hard on those amongst you who are squeamish! Thank you to everyone who wrote reviews for the last chapter. I'll try to get back to each and every one of you!**

 **Disclaimer: Bruno Heller owns the Mentalist and I make no money writing these stories!**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 31 Change of Plans

Cho's team had set out to scour the hospital, every nook and cranny, while the security videos were assembled and viewed by many eyes, one by one. Karil could clearly be seen entering Jane's room, and leaving with the bed holding the sleeping patient. The nurse Michelle guided the bed and rang for the elevator. The video feed did not show Karil getting off anywhere between the fourth floor and the basement. The feed for the sub-basement flickered and showed grainy images of nothing but empty halls and dark recesses, but no kidnapper and victim. The man could not vanish into thin air! Cho stared at the poor quality security video in frustration, not understanding what was going on. He needed to see for himself what the camera showed poorly. Standing up he called several FBI agents to his side and tasked them with coming with him down to the sub-basement. If there was a clue down there he would find it.

XXXXXXX

Teresa sat on the edge of a hospital bed completely worn out from stress. Every half hour a nurse came in and took her blood pressure and monitored the baby, keeping a vigil on this stressed out mother. Sarah remained on guard duty even now, not sure if Karil had plans to take Teresa as well now that the whole hospital had been turned upside down. Teresa was trying to think like Jane. How would he approach this case? Why did Karil want to take Jane if Katarina was in jail and the whole criminal enterprise was shut down? Was it personal revenge? If so then Jane was as good as dead, and might be already. If Karil needed Jane for some reason that made sense to him, then Jane would still be alive, at least for a while.

Teresa's mind swam with possibilities, but ultimately gave up trying to figure out how Karil might think. She was too exhausted and worried for any of it to make sense tonight.

XXXXXXX

Jane had just been terrorized by Karil with the empty syringe. Either the man was totally unbalanced or delighted in inflicting fear in his victims. And Jane was scared, no getting around that. Either way, Karil had suitably impressed Jane with his willingness to kill him if pushed too far. But clearly he wasn't thinking straight either. Jane had to address that issue very soon. His life would depend on it. He had to gain the upper hand somehow.

Sitting in the wheelchair so scantily dressed, Jane was chilled through and through. His flimsy clothing was made for a warm hospital room, with him bundled underneath flannel sheets. This cold was giving him the shivers, the damp made his bones ache. He thought he would never say so, but he missed his hospital bed and he sorely missed the pain pump. He had been needing it less and less lately, but with his knee screaming at him now from all the bumps and jostling, the drugs would have been heavenly. His one and only meal had been that shake. Thank goodness he actually drank it. There was no telling when he would get another one. Looking around at the small circle of light and the rodents it hid beyond it, Jane knew he had to change his situation himself. Karil had a plan when he brought Jane down here, but if he could make him change his plans, do something rash, maybe it would give Jane a chance to save himself. Either that or buy himself some time til Cho found this hidden place. He could hear Karil moving around behind the lantern, doing who knew what… Jane needed make him start talking. Since talking apparently was not allowed it was time to do something drastic to get things moving.

Looking around, Jane spotted a brave rat come within the circle of light. Pretending to be more afraid than he really was, he let out a loud cry and started to push his wheelchair back with his damaged leg. Biting down on his lip in pain, he kept up the charade hoping to get a rise out of his kidnapper. A moment or two later, Karil angrily stepped into the light and stopped the chair from moving.

"Where the hell do you think you're going? Did I say you could move?" he spat out.

"Rats! The rats were getting too close so I had to back up!" muttered Jane in feigned panic. Karil looked around and saw the rat, with several others close behind. A look of disgust and what else… fear? crossed his face. So, thought Jane, he is scared of rats… good to know.

"Keep them away from me!" shouted Jane, cringing and whining in panic.

Pretending to be totally fearless himself, Karil turned the wheelchair around to face him and laughed at his prisoner.

"Scared of a little rat are you? I thought you were a big brave agent!" he mocked Jane.

"I'm not an agent, just a retired consultant, that's all" he replied sadly. "I'm not worth much to the FBI, certainly not as much as a real agent."

"Hmmm…. not worth much to me either" muttered Karil. This was the opening Jane needed.

Looking his kidnapper in the eye, Jane asked a dangerous question, risking a beating.

"So why take me then? If I'm not worth much to you, why risk everything to take me? You do know that the FBI was not looking for you… you were Mr. Invisible to them and you could have walked away free as a bird in Austin after I was taken. But you didn't. You planned all of this, every detail, very well too I must say…" he flattered him. "But why?"

Karil stepped in front of Jane, intrigued by his line of thought. 'Yes' he thought, 'I did plan all this very well, Katarina will be pleased'.

"I have my reasons for taking you Mr. Jane. Good reasons."

"You should have run when you had the chance. So your reason must involve a certain person. Let me guess. Katarina Nemic". Patrick smiled up at Karil, who was towering over him, a smug expression on his gloating face.

"Is she why you risked everything? Your freedom, anonymity? Because she is in jail right now. Miroslav is in jail right now. Pavel is in jail right now. The only one who is not in jail is Luka, because he is dead. Dead. And then there is you. Just you".

Karil was taken aback at the list of his confederates and their fates. He had not been sure what became of Pavel, but he knew Luka was dead. He feared Katarina might be in jail, and probably Miroslav, but he had no hard and fast evidence to prove it, until now. So he was the only one left… Karil was temporarily speechless as the implications of this news sank in. Jane interrupted his thoughts and used his most persuasive tone of voice to unsettle his once cocky captor even more.

"So I guess that makes you Katarina's new right-hand man. Pavel was weak, never could have assumed control of the other men. Luka was a yes-man, happy to do Katarina's bidding, but not bright, not smart like you. And then there was Miroslav, a real pain in the ass from what I hear. Thought he was better than you and everybody else!" Jane spat out, looking for a reaction from Karil. "With Miroslav out of the way, you can be the most important man in Katarina's organization. Too bad she is in jail…"

Karil looked at Jane and saw where he was going with this. 'Too bad she is in jail…'

"You wanted to take me and kill me, to show Katarina what a good soldier you were, make me a sacrifice at the altar of the Nemics. But what good will that do you or Katarina, hmm? Think … think!" Jane said with conviction, hoping to persuade Karil to see his point. Hoping to buy his life back.

"Katarina had me kidnapped in Austin to break her brother out of jail. That didn't happen and now she is heading for a Federal prison. If you're caught, you will be arrested for kidnapping me, twice!"

Karil grabbed Jane by the arms and shook him violently, shook him until the sweat poured off his face and all of the rats had run for cover away from the crazy human. Jane cried out for him to stop, his arms and body wrenching and pulling against his zip ties, his leg banging around against the wheelchair. So far his situation had just gotten worse. Karil took his frustrations out on his weak prisoner, not sure why his words made him so angry, but they did. As he was throttling Jane he realized he was right, the man was right dammit! If he killed Jane and Katarina ever got free, she would be furious at Karil for killing her one chance to get Jan out of that Federal prison. For all he knew, she would hire someone to kill him in a spiteful case of payback. Karil drew his hand back to punch Jane in the face, the urge to hurt him paramount in his mind and in his gut, but something stopped him. He suddenly dropped his fist to his side and stepped away from Jane, trying to calm himself down. Karil looked out into the darkness outside of the circle of light, a bad feeling settling over him. Jane was right. He couldn't kill him, not unless Katarina ordered it. Jane had braced for the punch but instead saw the confusion and indecision in Karil's eyes. Now was his chance to take control. Time to plant a new idea.

"Listen to me… no one knows who you are or where we are" he lied. He had never used Karil's name, not once, so Karil didn't know Jane and everybody else knew his true identity. "The FBI has no idea who you are. You're still invisible to them. Otherwise they would have arrested you at the hospital days ago, but did they? No. Think about it! You know I'm right! That's why it was so easy to take me! I am assuming this brown hair is a disguise, so when you resume your regular look you will be free to come and go as you please" he continued to lie. "Why not let me help you? I can break Katarina out of jail, then we can get Jan Nemic out of jail as well. She will be in your debt and the three of you can run back to Eastern Europe and resume your merry little criminal enterprise once more. If you want to be Katarina's good graces, that is…" he rubbed it in.

Karil stumbled back, realizing the plan he had so carefully crafted looked more and more useless now. Of course Katarina would be furious if the talented Mr. Jane was killed. Shit! He had to change his plans and get Jane out of the tunnels and stash him somewhere while they planned two prison breaks. He had planned to kill him down here and just let Jane's body rot, food for the rats, while he escaped back up another tunnel. God this was going south fast! For all of his bravado, Karil was still just a drone sadly infatuated with his powerful boss lady. And that had been his mistake. He could have been long gone by now...

Jane watched Karil's conflicted face and knew he had him. He had just upset his entire plan for him and the idiot didn't know what to do next. 'Score one for me' thought Jane with relief. The next move was up to Karil.

Karil had to go and think, get away from this man, who could be lying, but, he could also be telling the truth. No one at the hospital had any idea who he was, or so Karil believed. Maybe Karil could get away and use Jane to his advantage. He stepped back out of the circle of light and grabbed the lantern, heading for the door. Jane's heart sank at the prospect of being alone in the dark again, surrounded by the rats. He really was worried about them after all. The door opened and Karil stepped through, plunging the room into complete blackness. Jane's conversation had greatly disturbed his captor, but he had no idea if it would lead to anything good for him. He turned his head around to listen for little feet approaching, his whole world reduced to this small black and claustrophobic prison.

XXXXXX

Karil ran down a tunnel to get away from the room where he had hidden his prisoner. He knew that the labyrinthine tunnels should lead to another building above them. The historical plans showed the connecting doorways farther up the street. According to those plans, if he found the right tunnel, he and Jane would eventually emerge at street level through an abandoned warehouse scheduled for demolition. He walked and walked, checking tunnels and crawl spaces, looking for the way out and up, far away from the Trauma Centre. His confidence had been badly eroded. Even though he should have known Katarina was in custody, he had been too much in love with her to believe it, and now his whole plan was falling down around his ears. He desperately wanted to kill Jane, one little needle stick and a push of air, and he would be out of his life and no longer a problem. But if he could get Katarina out of jail…. he needed Jane. After walking for a good 10 minutes he noticed the tunnel start to tilt upwards on a slight grade. The old paving stones eventually turned to concrete and at the end of the line, Karil faced a heavy, spiderweb encrusted door. This was it! The doorway shown on the ancient plans! In those days the warehouse beyond the door was a stable and livery station. The roomy space had easily been converted into a factory and then, with an addition built on, a warehouse. Karil looked around for something to batter down the worm-eaten door. After walking back down the tunnel for while, he found an old length of wood with a metal hinge on it, ideal to bash down the door. He ran back to the door and started to swing at it with his new tool. The door was more solid than it appeared, but after repeated blows from the sharp metal-edged club, the wood splintered and started to crumble. Karil peered through the hole he had made and spied the inside of a small room in the basement of the old warehouse. A huge smile broke out on his dust and sweat smeared face and he ran back down the tunnel to retrieve his mouthy captive, a new plan forming in his mind.

XXXXX

A mere 5 minutes after Karil left, the dominant male rat stepped forward in the darkness to once again inspect the large stationary object in the room. Jane could not see a thing, but was listening intently for any change in the atmosphere, any scratching or scurrying little feet. A sound to his left caught his attention and he swivelled his head in that direction, desperate to stave off another attack. While he was doing that, rats were circling to his right and behind his wheelchair, unbeknownst to him. As he peered into the blackness, a warm body hit his foot and scrambled up, throwing Jane into a panic. The small animal turned himself around, trying to grab onto the limb as it kicked and tried to throw the furry invader off. Instead of running away this time, the rat dug its' claws in and held onto Jane's foot tightly, turning around and staring up at his target. Jane could feel the rodent sitting on the top of his foot and could not dislodge it. While he worked at kicking the rat off his foot, the king rat ran around behind Jane and soon was climbing up the large silver wheel and clawed his way silently across the seat back, digging in his claws to hold on tightly. He slowly climbed, heading up the seat back towards Jane's neck. While preoccupied with keeping more rats off his legs, Jane didn't notice the small body clinging to the top of the leather chair before it leapt for the cotton-clad skin on Jane's shoulder. A terrified scream erupted from the helpless man's throat as he bucked and twisted his head, trying to knock the large rat off his body. More rats swarmed forward, emboldened by the success of the first two males. Another rat jumped onto Jane's damaged leg, sniffing and investigating the brace and the velcroed cloth covering his knee. He got busy trying to chew through the scratchy fabric. A fourth rat scurried up past him and was now sitting in Jane's lap, examining the cloth of the hospital gown and enjoying the warmth of the skin he sat on. He wanted to get under that cloth and examine what lay beneath. He dug around in the hospital gown, chewing the fabric and getting excited to have something new to explore. Jane was thrashing in his chair in a frenzy, unable to lift his arms to knock off the little predators, but his need to repel them in his fear and disgust drove him to try to rock them off himself nonetheless. A sharp bite in his abdomen shocked the breath out of Jane. The rat was biting him! Oh God make it stop! Another sharp bite on his thigh indicated another aggressive rat choosing his territory. Jane's heart was pounding in his chest and he was completely helpless to stop the onslaught. Each bite was small, and harmless, he knew that, and the chances of rabies was negligible, but shit! Rats were attacking him! The sharp pain of a bite on his shin jolted Jane as it was so close to the bone. Jane remembered reading that the most bitten body parts were fingers, toes and faces, so he curled up his fingers into a fist and held his hands tightly in a ball. He couldn't risk damage to his hands, as they were his very best tool other than his mind. A warm furry body ran up his chest and sat staring at him on his sternum. He had to calm down, had to slow his breathing and stop fighting the rats. He was making them more aggressive by bucking and rocking the wheelchair. A swish of fur glanced past his left ear… oh god…. oh geez it's near my face…

Suddenly the blackness exploded in light. Karil ran forward swinging the lantern at the body in the wheelchair, shouting and waving his other hand as the rats froze in fear and then stampeded off the body and scurried back to their dens. Jane was panting hard, his eyes clamped shut, waiting for the first bite on his face.

"They're gone" said Karil, as disgusted as his prisoner at the sight he had just seen.

Jane opened his eyes wide in relief, never so glad to see a kidnapper in his life! Looking down, he saw a rivulet of blood down his leg and another on his thigh, and a stream of blood pooling in his lap. It could have been so much worse in a few more minutes. Karil walked around Jane, making sure that all the rats had jumped down. Then he grabbed the wheelchair and started to push Jane towards the darkened doorway.

"Thank you…" croaked Jane in relief. As the chair moved forward, he dared to ask a question.

"What now? Where are we going?"

"To work!" came the gruff reply.

XXXXXXX

Cho and his men had hit the sub-basement running, checking out each hallway and door. All of them were locked and much time was wasted bashing them open. There was nothing in any of the rooms except out of date medical equipment, the dust on the floors indicating the room had not been used recently. Cho eventually found himself at the end of the hallway and faced a large old door. Peering at it intently, he realized the paint had been scraped and chipped away all around the edges. This was recent work. Karil had been here! He called forward his man with the battering ram and the door was soon lying in a splintered heap. Stepping over the fractured wood, Cho and his men switched on their high-powered flashlights and entered the room. What he saw made his heart sink. There stood the hospital bed, the sheets thrown off and lying on the floor. Getting down on his knees, Cho noticed two sets of wheel tracks in the dust. Wheelchair tracks. So Jane was still with Karil. They had to find him soon. He had to be in rough shape, in pain and frightened. Running forward, they reached the next door on the far wall. This one was not locked and again they entered, this time much more cautiously. They had stepped back in time, a cool gust of air spreading dankness and dust into their faces. Cho realized that this was Karil's escape plan, subterranean tunnels. Ahead of them stretched a tunnel, a stony path descending into darkness. Cho got on his cell phone and called for the blueprints of anything older that the hospital for this location. If there were tunnels under the buildings above, and Karil had found blueprints somewhere, then Cho needed that very same information. Cho divided his men up into groups of two, each team tasked with following a different tunnel once they got to the bottom of the sloped pathway. Once there, they soon faced the fork in the road, and the teams were ready to split up. Cho needed to wait and get those blueprints. He was mentally kicking himself for not considering ancient blueprints instead of those from the modern age. Time had been wasted going over those blueprints of the current hospital. None of that information even mattered now. Each minute felt like an hour but 6 minutes after placing the call, an agent came running up with multiple copies of very old schematics. The men grouped around Cho and studied the plans, seeing the old pen and ink drawings of a courthouse, jail and Sheriff's office. The next page showed what lay beneath, a snaking twisting system of tunnels and corridors leading to each building and beyond. It was an underground sidewalk. The FBI agents had no way of knowing which tunnel would lead to their suspect and Jane, but they had to set out and search each and every one of them. Cell phones came out and clicked snapshots of the tunnel system, so each agent would know where to go. Cho assigned each team with a direction to follow and instructions to check in regularly. At the fork in the pathway, they all split up, two by two, following wheelchair wheel ruts that seemed to be everywhere.

Some of the tunnels led to dead-ends, sometimes to crawl spaces that might have housed runaways or drunks who found themselves underground in bad weather. Some led to small rooms that had long ago lost their doors to rot or vandalism. Cho called out to his various teams but no one had found anything of value yet. The work was painstakingly slow, as every single space below ground had to be searched and eliminated from their attention. What had taken Karil 15 minutes of quick walking was now stretching out to an hour underground for Cho and his men. Far ahead of them, on the other end of the tunnels, Karil was shoving Jane in his wheelchair through a tight tunnel, wide enough for just one man, close to his destination. He had no idea the FBI was right behind him. Sooner or later, there was going to be a clash.

XXXXXXXX


	32. A New Strategy

**This is a very long chapter, but it was necessary. Thank you to everyone who wrote reviews for the last chapter. I'll try to get back to each and every one of you!**

 **Disclaimer: Bruno Heller owns the Mentalist and I make no money writing these stories!**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 32 A New Strategy

Lisbon had been so good, so obedient. She had stayed in her hospital room resting, staying out of the hunt for Karil on Cho's orders. She had suffered no pains, no cramps or anything suggesting early labour, but here she sat, being useless. The baby was not due for another 3 weeks, and she felt fine but frustrated. Dammit! She was still an agent, not an invalid! Cho wanted the best for her and the baby but this forced rest was for his conscience, to get one more problem out of the way. While she loved him for his concern for her, this was her husband who was missing, probably somewhere in this building. She couldn't stand being idle for another second. Pacing the floor she reached a decision and stepped out into the hall, running into Sarah on guard duty at her door.

"C'mon!" Lisbon barked at Sarah as she walked briskly down the hall. Sarah was so surprised she just followed automatically.

"Wait, Teresa! What are you doing? You should be resting!" the bodyguard protested.

Teresa didn't stop walking, but just waved her hand and yelled "been there, done that!".

"But where are we going?" asked Sarah, now clearly following, confused at Lisbon's changed demeanor.

Teresa slowed down and turned around to face Sarah. "I have not heard one word about what's going on. I am an FBI agent too, but no one is talking to me. My husband is somewhere in this building, hurt, in pain, maybe close to death, and yet I should be resting peacefully? Not happening! I want answers and I am going to get them. Where is the command centre Sarah?"

Before the bodyguard could answer, Teresa was on the move again, heading for an elevator. As her finger lingered over the button, she looked at her friend and asked again.

"Which floor Sarah?"

Sarah hit the button and as the doors slid shut, she pushed the button for the first floor, knowing other agents would still be in the command centre in the conference room. Teresa was out of the elevator in a shot when the doors opened, with Sarah keeping pace, knowing full well that this more senior agent would not stop until she got answers to her questions.

Guiding her to the conference room, Sarah opened the door and waved her inside. A young agent sitting at the large table stood up and put up his hands.

"Whoa … whoa… Ladies! Stop!" he said, taking in the tiny dark-haired, very pregnant woman gazing around the room. "You can't be in here. The maternity wing is upstairs Ma'am!"

Lisbon shot him a withering look and said "Save it!" as she flashed him her FBI badge and took a seat, pushing him out of the way. The young man looked at Sarah questioningly, but she just smiled and told him to get out of the way. He slunk down the table further away from the door and watched to see what these two women wanted, as they clearly outranked him.

"What do we have gentlemen? What is Agent Cho's attack plan?" Lisbon asked, staring at the stunned men.

"Uhhh…. and you are?" risked another young agent, new to the field.

Lisbon rounded on him, trying to control her frustration. Grabbing her badge, she held it up high above her head, so everyone in the room could see it this time.

"I am FBI Agent Teresa Lisbon Jane, before that I was a police chief, before that I was the Senior Agent running the office of the CBI in Sacramento. My husband Patrick Jane is the reason you are all here. It is the reason I am here. I have been a cop longer than most of you have been out of diapers, so if you don't want to find yourselves using diapers again at some point tonight, I suggest you quit pretending to be in control and start listening to me. I want information, updates, whatever Cho knows, I want to know! If you don't want to spend the rest of your oh so recent careers at the FBI polishing the chrome on the company cars, I suggest you lose your attitude and give me answers. Got it?"

"Yes Ma'am!" came the embarrassed chorus of young voices.

"Good. Where are we right now?" Lisbon asked, perusing the large schematic drawings in front of her on the table.

One brave young man stepped forward and started to explain that she was looking at very old drawings of the underground tunnels that ran from the Trauma Centre to buildings further up the street. "We know that Packovski took Mr. Jane down the patient elevator to the sub-basement, and then disappeared. The video cameras down there are either disabled or so sketchy the images are very hard to make out."

"So where did he go? He had no other exit from those hallways?" she asked, looking at the drawings with interest.

"Agent Cho asked for these particular drawings, so we believe that the perp has taken Mr. Jane into the tunnels, most likely to keep him there to k'…." he stopped speaking, realizing he shouldn't say what he was going to say.

Teresa turned her attention to the young man, clearly in distress for what he was intimating to the victim's wife.

"Most likely to keep him there to kill him… that's what you were going to say, correct Agent?" she said softly.

The agent shook his head yes, looking sheepish. Teresa patted his hand, knowing his job was a difficult one, giving her bad news. She turned back to the blueprints, all business again.

"So what else do these drawings tell us? A tunnel goes somewhere, serves as an underground highway. So if you follow the highway, where does it lead?" she asked, staring at the maze of lines. All eyes in the room studied the blueprint silently, trying to see where the pathways led, to blind alleyways, crawl spaces, rooms or other new tunnels. The map was old, poorly drawn well over a hundred years ago , most likely by someone who was not a trained draughtsman.

Many minutes went by until a long finger stabbed the paper. Sarah was beaming at Teresa, pointing to a spot on the paper partially obscured by a curling old official seal of some sort. Prying the corner of the seal loose, Teresa could see it as well. A tunnel rose up from the depths and led to a door, beyond which lay a stable and livery station. Both of those would be long gone.

"What is there now? Can someone find out what replaced these original buildings?" Teresa shouted to anyone at all. The agents checked the drawing and two scurried out of the room to get answers. Teresa smiled at Sarah, so glad to have this woman by her side right now.

"Thank you for seeing that. I missed it."

Sarah blushed, grinning at herself. "You know those kids who can't resist peeling the labels off their cold beer bottles in the summer? Well that was me all through university. No bottle was safe from my fingers! Drove my friends wild. When I saw that seal in the corner of the paper, I just had to peek underneath!"

"Well I'm glad you did."

Teresa studied the drawing and then seemed worried again. "You peeled the seal off, but would Cho or anyone else do the same? What if they haven't seen this tunnel and where it leads? They will waste time looking everywhere instead of heading to the only exit from the system!" she said with a bad feeling. If that was so, then Cho and his men were conducting a fruitless search for the exit when the answer was right under a sticker from decades ago.

"We need to call Cho and tell him about this, so he can search his own set of drawings." Teresa told Sarah. Nodding in agreement, Sarah grabbed her phone and hit Cho's number. Nothing happened. Trying again, she moved around the room, searching for a better signal. Still nothing. Looking up at Teresa, she knew what the problem was.

"We can't call him. He's too far underground and inside the tunnels. The signal can't reach him."

"So we can't tell him where to look!" said Teresa with concern. "We need to get word to him somehow." Getting up, Teresa headed for the door.

"Oh no! Not you Teresa! I will go along with you getting involved to a certain extent, but you are not crawling through dusty dirty tunnels, not at this stage of your pregnancy! Cho and your husband would never forgive me!" Sarah stated emphatically.

"But Cho needs to be told what we found!" said Teresa with frustration. Just then the other young agents returned with a laptop open, showing pictures of more recent blueprints.

"There is an abandoned warehouse standing where the livery station and stable used to be more than 100 years ago. It's going to be demolished in about 6 months so it is boarded up and off limits to the general public" one young agent informed Teresa.

"See here?" he pointed to the picture on the screen. "This is a basement area and on the far wall it appears that there once was a door. Maybe that door led to a tunnel? That's what it looks like on the paper anyways, but it is smudged and torn at bit, so it is hard to tell for sure."

Sarah and Teresa, and all of the young men, leaned in and scrutinized the discovery, trying to decide if it was in fact a doorway to a tunnel. If the original drawing had not been so damaged, perhaps they would already know.

"We need to go to that warehouse and go downstairs and check out that door. If that is the only way out of the tunnel system, eventually Karil will have to surface. We need to be there when he does!" Teresa announced to the room.

All heads shook in agreement. The young men now understood that Teresa was the most senior Agent in the room and they gladly took their orders from her until Agent Cho returned.

"I need someone to go down to the tunnels and find Cho and give him this information about the location of the tunnel exit. If you are the tiniest bit claustrophobic, do not volunteer!" said Lisbon. Three men put up their hands. Lisbon chose one randomly and he nodded his head in agreement.

"You, you and you, come with us. We are heading over to the warehouse." Teresa commanded, pointing to the other agents.

"What about me? What do you want me to do?" asked another agent who had not been chosen.

"I need a weapon. What are you carrying?" Teresa answered him.

" A Glock. Great gun…" he mumbled.

"Good, give it to me. I want you to stay here and keep apprised of what is going on. If anything new comes up that either we or Cho needs to know, you will be responsible for getting that intel out to us - got it?" she barked.

"Yes Ma'am, I mean Agent!" he said, handing over his gun and holster to Teresa's waiting hand. Teresa stood up and fastened the holster under her arm and holstered the weapon. God that felt good, to have a Glock in her hands again. Just as she turned to go with the other agents behind her, a knock came to the door and an agent stepped in, speaking to Lisbon quietly.

"What? Here? Now?" she said in amazement.

"Yes Ma'am" he said calmly.

Teresa turned to the assembled agents and told them to wait for a moment while she stepped out of the room. Standing outside the door she was stunned to see Laila, her arm in a sling and a big smile on her face.

"Surprise!" she said, happy to see Lisbon again.

"Laila! What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be in the hospital a few more days?" said Lisbon in surprise, and some annoyance at this new development.

"I told the doctor I had someplace to stay since I am just resting and laying around anyway, so he let me go. What is going on here? I had to talk my way into the hospital, tell the guard I was coming to see you. I just wanted to visit Mr. Jane and see how he is doing!" Laila explained.

Teresa couldn't hide her surprise or worry at seeing Laila here, now.

"What is it Teresa? What's happened…." A knowing look lit up Laila's face. " It's him, isn't it? Did he find Mr. Jane?" Laila said softly.

Taking Laila aside, Teresa had no time to waste, and got right to the point.

"Yes, Karil took him. We think he is hiding Patrick underground in a series of tunnels. We need to flush him out and wait for him at the other end. I really don't have time to visit or discuss this with you Laila, I'm sorry…" she said, distracted from her mission.

"I can help!" Laila said. "Let me help!"

"No way. You are a civilian, a wounded civilian by the way. No way I am letting you near Karil!" Lisbon snapped at her. Laila stood her ground. An idea forming in her mind.

"But I speak his language."

"Karil speaks English very well Laila. We don't need you to talk to him."

Laila would not be deterred. " Listen to me, you need to call Miroslav, you told me he is in jail. Speak to him and find out what Karil's weakness is. There has to be something that you can use to bargain with him, some leverage. Doesn't it make sense that if he is trapped in the tunnels with Mr. Jane, you will need something to offer him in exchange for your husband?"

Not for the first time, Lisbon was impressed with this girl's intelligence and analytical thinking. She would make a great agent….

Thinking quickly, time running out, Lisbon decided that this was a good idea, worth giving it a try. She walked back into the conference room with Laila on her heels.

"Everybody out please, just Laila and Sarah can stay. Wait for me outside, this won't take long" Lisbon ordered the assembled agents. They got up, confused at the sudden shift in activity, but they did what they were told.

As soon as the door shut, Lisbon was on the phone with the local FBI office, demanding to speak to their prisoner, Miroslav. Several precious minutes ticked by and then, finally, she heard his voice. She put him on speakerphone.

"Hello?"

"Hello, this is Agent Teresa Jane. I have a couple of questions for you."

"Why the hell should I help you Agent Jane? What's in it for me?" he sniffed contemptuously into the phone, but thrilled to be out of his cell, even temporarily.

"Better time once you go to prison for starters, an easier life on the inside. Any help you give to the FBI will go a long way towards shortening your time. If you aren't interested in that, you can hang up right now!" she said, gambling that he would consider this a good offer.

She could hear him breathing on the other end of the line, thinking if he should cooperate with the authorities or not. Lisbon held her breath as he took his time.

"Time's up. Talk or I hang up."

"Ok, ok! Whaddya want to know?" he agreed.

"Karil Packovski, tell me everything you know about him. Everything."

"Hmmm, so his name is Packovski, that I didn't know…. yeah, so, Karil… thinks he's quite the ladies man. Dyes his hair and beard black, loves the flash, ya know what I mean? Lots of rings and necklaces, all gold, a dinosaur from the disco era…" Miroslav laughed on the other end of the line.

"What else? What does he want more than anything?" Lisbon pushed him.

Lisbon heard another laugh on the line and Miroslav answered. "My job! He thought he should be the number one guy in Katarina's organization. Not like that would ever happen with me around, ya know what I mean? But he did have the hots for her. I never understood what he saw in her - she's old! But she had the power, and he wanted some of that action. Was infatuated with her, not that he ever acted on it, the cowardly little shit…" he snickered.

"Does Katarina know he likes her?" Lisbon asked.

"Hell yeah, she knows. She knows he wants to make a move on her, thinks he loves her. Poor bastard, not like she would ever make a move in return. The idea of it gave her a big laugh many a night. The only man she ever loved was her brother. How sick is that? She's bat-shit crazy! Ya know what I mean?"

"Yup. I know what you mean. You've been a big help Miroslav".

"Hey, you remember this when it's time for me to do my time! Remember!" he yelled into the phone.

Lisbon now had something to work with. This was an insight into Karil's mind and his motivation for taking Jane. She hung up and called her men back, ready to go over to the warehouse. Laila started to walk with them. One agent would go and find Cho.

"Just where the hell do you think you're going?" asked Teresa as she walked quickly towards the elevators.

"With you! I can speak to Karil. You need me!" she said in earnest.

"I told you. Karil speaks perfectly good English, so why do we need you?" asked Teresa, not understanding why she wanted to be part of this rescue mission.

"Yes he does. But can you impersonate Katarina Nemic?" Laila said, looking at Teresa with a sly grin. Teresa stopped dead in her tracks.

"What? What are you saying?"

'Karil is infatuated with Katarina, you heard it yourself. I have spent a lot of time with her over the years. I know how she thinks and how she speaks, both in English and in Slovakian. What if I stay out of sight and Karil thinks you brought me down to the basement in exchange for Mr. Jane?" she said with a twinkle in her eye. Teresa looked at her, deep in thought. God that girl was fast with a plan. Both women stared at each other, thinking and weighing their options. This could either be Jane's salvation or a horrible, misguided plan that could get Laila or all of them in over their heads, or dead.

"Well? Do we bring Karil his heart's desire in exchange for your husband?" asked Laila, as she started towards the elevators. Teresa walked forward, smiling discretely, liking this idea and this girl more and more. The young men waiting to start their missions had watched the exchange with bemused interest.

"You!" Teresa pointed at the young man tasked with finding Cho. "Tell Agent Cho that Laila is coming with us and to play along when we start to negotiate with Karil. He'll understand".

"Yes Ma'am!"

Turning to Laila as the lift doors slid open, she pointed her finger in the young woman's face.

"We do this my way, understand? You take your orders from me. If you can't do that, stay here. Can you do that for Jane?" Teresa barked. The group stepped into the elevator, all eyes on the two women.

'Yes Ma'am…" smiled Laila, as the elevator doors closed on the small group of agents and one wounded civilian.

XXXXXXX

Karil struggled to push Jane's wheelchair through the loose powdery dust covering the old stone tiles on the tunnel floor. The wheelchair had been easy to maneuver when it was empty and Karil was laying down misleading tracks all over the place, but now with Jane weighing it down, they were making very slow progress.

"Cut my zip ties" suggested Patrick.

"Shut up!" snapped Karil, distracted by his need to make a quick escape and keep his prisoner alive.

"Cut the zip ties on my wrists and I can help you by pushing the wheels with my hands. It won't be so hard to get through the soft earth if I help" he explained.

"I said shut the fuck up!" yelled Karil, smacking Jane up the back of his head with his palm.

Jane's head rocked forward, jolting his jaw and sending fresh waves of pain through his face and skull. Best to lay low for a while he thought, when his head stopped pounding. Jane stayed silent, waiting until Karil got more pissed off with his efforts to push his prisoner. After he stopped to wipe his sweaty brow, Karil sighed heavily and sat down on a large rock and took a break. Jane risked another try.

"Look, keep my leg tied to the chair, and you already know my other leg is useless. I can't run away no matter how much I want to" he pointed out, quite truthfully. Karil said nothing but got up and resumed his pushing, silently hating Jane more with every passing minute. If only he could just kill him!

Karil grunted with effort as he guided the heavy wheelchair through a tight tunnel, not wanting to agree with this smart-ass man. But shit, he was right…

Jane was shivering again and just wanted to move some part of his body to keep warm. After another 5 minutes of fruitless struggling, Karil stopped and got out his army knife. He stood behind Jane for a long time, thinking, looking at the knife wistfully, trying to reach a decision. Patrick dared not speak, wondering what Karil was doing behind his back. Finally he walked slowly around the wheelchair and stood in front of Patrick, holding the sleek knife blade inches away from his face.

"See this?' he said softly. " This would solve all of my problems. All of your problems too Mr. Jane. What should I do with this, hmmm? I could cut your neck just about here…" he said, pressing it against Jane's jugular vein. Patrick didn't move a muscle. Had Karil flipped out finally? Was he losing touch with reality like his boss Katarina?

"Or …. should I cut your wrists wide open and let you bleed out, right here while I watch? Hmmm? Does that sound good to you because it sure as hell sounds good to me!' he hissed, spittle hitting Jane in the face. He slowly ran the tip of the knife along the edges of the zip ties, using it as a tracing line, marking the ideal spot to make an incision. Patrick dared not say anything. His breathing had sped up and he was shaking harder now, not from the cold, but rather from fear. Karil should know he had to keep him alive, if he wanted to please Katarina. But had he finally decided the effort was too much and that he should just kill his prisoner now, then take off running, cutting his chances of being caught?

Karil stood staring at the knife, mesmerised, watching it shine in the lantern light, twisting it this way and that, enjoying the glow the silver metal made in the darkness. Looking down, he met Jane's eyes and smiled, stepping closer again, the knife point aiming at the thin cloth covering Jane's chest.

"Ever had a tattoo Mr. Jane?" he asked. Jane didn't know how to respond so he said nothing. Karil leaned in and placed the knife against the muscle over Jane's heart.

Looking up into Jane's wide-eyed face, he repeated the question quietly.

"I said, ever had a tattoo Mr. Jane?"

Patrick slowly shook his head left to right, indicating he had not.

"Well then I think it's time you got one, don't you?" Karil stated, staring at the hospital gown covering the cold flesh on his captive.

"No…. no please no…" said Jane softly, not sure if this was the end.

"Errrrhhh! Wrong answer!" shouted Karil, making Jane jump in surprise.

"This is how they do it in the slammer you know, if you don't have any ink available at the moment" he said, pressing the blade down more firmly against the shaking muscle. A slight push and the knife pierced the cotton of the hospital gown and he raised it up on the knife point, shredding the cloth all the way from the heart to the navel.

"Oops!" he laughed. "Didn't mean to ruin your good suit!" he laughed hysterically, while Patrick looked down and saw a thin stream of blood running down his chest onto his belly. His captor was losing it quickly.

Karil stood up and flicked the knife around, wiping it off on the fabric of the hospital gown, smiling all the while at the frightened man in the chair. He reached down and placed the knife edge on Jane's wrist and swiftly cut, a deep slice, then moved over and repeated the motion on the other wrist. He snickered as the plastic restraints fell to the ground. Jane felt his arms swing free for the first time in hours, stunned by the man's actions. As the blood came rushing back into his hands, he cursed with the pain of it, but was glad to finally have a tiny taste of freedom. Jane sucked in a lungful of air in relief, glad to still be alive and free of those damned zip ties. He was well and truly afraid of Karil now and sat perfectly still in his chair, careful not to antagonize the man anymore than necessary.

Karil said nothing more but pocketed his knife and resumed pushing the wheelchair up the pathway. Jane pretended to help turn the wheels, but his intention had never been to help make Karil's job easier, but to get his hands free. Now he had a fighting chance to defend himself, but how, he just didn't know.

As he had promised, Jane looked like he was trying to push the wheels on the wheelchair, but in reality, he did nothing, going through the motions and making Karil still do all the hard work. Better to exhaust the captor instead of being exhausted himself he reasoned. Where the hell was Cho? He should be here by now hoped Jane. After a few more minutes of grunting and rolling the chair awkwardly through the narrow passageway, Karil stopped and listened. Did he hear something? He swung the lantern around and looked down the passageway where they had just come from. Silence reigned.

"Just rats!" suggested Jane. He hoped it was the FBI, but why let Karil think that?

"Maybe…' Karil agreed, not sure if he believed it. He slogged a few more feet forward with Jane not helping at all when, there it was again… a louder noise.

Looking at his prisoner, Karil swung around and withdrew a gun from the back of his waistband. Jane eyed it dismally, not realizing his captor had two weapons with him, three if you counted that syringe.

"It's just rats! Relax!" Jane said louder.

"You'd better pray that's all it is or you are a dead man!" whispered Karil.

He stopped to consult a very old looking photocopied blueprint, desperately searching for the right tunnel to get him out of this dank underground hell.

XXXXXX

A young agent barrelled out of the elevator in the sub-basement and down the hallway searching for the door that Cho and his men had gone through some time earlier. After running down one or two halls, a guard by a doorway confirmed to the agent that he had found the right place and told him to keep going. The agent drew out his flashlight and stepped into the darkness, retracing the steps of many agents in front of him. He could move faster than the first group and in time, caught up with Cho and his men. He quickly filled Cho in on the most recent developments and Cho was not happy at all upon hearing that Teresa was back in the field, working the case. He would have strong words for her when this was all over. The news that Laila had insinuated herself into the situation made him even angrier. So Lisbon wanted him to play along when the negotiations began? What the hell was she playing at? What did she know that he didn't? He had watched Lisbon for years when she was his boss, so he could only hope that she knew what she was doing.

XXXXXXX


	33. Come to Me

**Happy Canadian Thanksgiving to all my readers! And if it isn't Thanksgiving where you are, have a great day! Thank you for all of the thoughtful reviews, much appreciated.**

 **Disclaimer: Bruno Heller owns the Mentalist and I make no money writing these stories!**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 33 Come to Me

Lisbon, the FBI agents and Laila all piled into an SUV and drove the short distance up the street to the abandoned warehouse. Laila was fitted with a bullet-proof vest, her arm painfully resting in a sling. Teresa was not happy in the least with her being there, but if push came to shove, she needed every possible advantage to catch Karil before he harmed Patrick any more than he had already. The small group walked over to the warehouse, and with large wire cutters, the men clipped the locks on the fencing surrounding the condemned property and led the women inside. The doors were soon breached and the group advanced cautiously, flashlights guiding their way through the cavernous space. The warehouse was very large and mostly empty except for large concrete slabs which once served as bases for large pieces of equipment. It would have made an excellent set for a horror movie. The men and Sarah encircled Lisbon and Laila, not because they were weak women, but Lisbon was pregnant, and could not run fast and Laila was a civilian. They made their way through the main level of the old building and then found the stairs leading to the basement, the elevators long ago decommissioned.

The small group crept silently down the stairs, keeping close to the walls, guns drawn. They didn't know what they would find down there. Perhaps Karil and Jane had already emerged from the labyrinth and were resting in the basement. Karil would have the advantage over the agents if he was there first. He could pick them off one by one as they came into view. When they got more than half way down without resistance, Lisbon realized they still had the advantage of surprise on their side, their quarry had not yet left the tunnel system.

XXXXXX

While Lisbon and her team were moving into position in the warehouse basement, Cho and his men were swiftly closing in on Karil and Jane. Once Cho had received the information about the exit tunnel hidden under the paper seal, he had been able to move much more rapidly towards his target. Sandwiched between both FBI groups were Jane and his captor, unaware of their impending contact.

Cho was moving as stealthily as possible, but the tunnels were an echo chamber, every misstep and scattered rock a possible clarion call to Karil that he was being followed. This was the most difficult part of the mission for the FBI. They had the disadvantage of having no cover to speak of once they turned that final corner in the pathway, and any sneeze, cough or misplaced step could give them away. Cho had to direct his men with the utmost care.

XXXXXX

Karil was focussed on pushing that damned wheelchair forward, up the pathway in the loose dirt and dust. Jane was a dead weight, his ineffectual help pushing the wheels was not making much difference in the distance they had to cover. To add to his misery Karil was convinced he could hear something moving behind them. No matter how many times his prisoner told him it was nothing, or rats, or his imagination, Karil didn't believe him. He was spending more and more time looking over his shoulder than making progress towards the old wooden door that led to freedom. Rounding the final bend in the path, he saw his goal. 20 feet in front of them stood the partially smashed old door. The hole in the upper part of the door was the most welcome sight Karil had seen in a long time, confirming to him that he had taken the right pathway after all. Jane looked up and saw the door, but it only made his fragile hope sink. They had come to the end of the line and Cho had not shown up. He had no idea what lay beyond that portal into the next building, but this journey on the twisting underground highway had presented his best opportunity to be rescued.

Karil started to push the wheelchair up the incline, the lantern swinging back and forth in his left hand as his right hand held the handle of the chair, sweating and slipping from his exertions. Jane still pretended to be helping to propel the wheels, but in reality he pushed down on the wheels with his hands acting as brakes, slowing their progress more and more now that they had to fight gravity and the narrow confines of this tight passageway. He didn't know what else to do. Help had to come soon!

While Karil laboured above them, Cho and his men were approaching the bend in the tunnel, advancing silently, aware that their quarry was close enough now to definitely hear them and certainly see them if they stepped out to take him down. Unfortunately, Karil had the logistical advantage. He was going uphill, and could turn and fire on Cho's men while they would have to run should he start to shoot. There was nothing to hide behind in the tunnel. Cho was soon going to be totally exposed. Making the whole mission more dangerous was the fact that Jane would be caught in the middle of the takedown, the human shield Karil could use to his benefit should the FBI attempt to take him out. Any random bullet could ricochet off the stone walls and kill anyone of of them, but for Jane, it was a certainty that he would not escape a firefight unscathed.

Cho peeked around the corner and saw the back of Karil, Jane out of sight hidden by his captor's body. On the other side of the door, Lisbon, her team and Laila crept quietly around the perimeter of the basement, keeping close to the wall. As they approached the far wall, Lisbon saw an old wooden door with a hole bashed into the top half of it. The damage looked recent judging from the splinters on the floor. The person who made the hole must have been on the other side of the door, as the explosion of wood had flown into the warehouse basement. It had to have been Karil attempting to break his way through this final obstacle. Lisbon signalled for everyone to turn off their flashlights, her finger to her lips indicating absolute silence. On the other side of the door, Lisbon could now hear someone grunting with effort, heavily breathing and cursing as he pushed a wheelchair. It was Karil.

XXXXXX

Jane saw the door and tuned to speak to the angry man behind him.

"What happens when we get to the door? What's the plan?"

"Shut up goddammit!" grunted Karil, sick of the kidnapping, sick of the trip through the underground and sick of keeping Jane alive.

"I'm asking because you're going to have to carry me up the stairs in the other building if there isn't an elevator."

Jane got no answer, not even a smack in the head just for asking. Karil was stymied for the moment, not caring to figure out his next step just yet. Quite frankly, he didn't have a plan now, he was winging it, hoping for the best. Lugging Jane around was going to slow him down. He just might kill him anyway and run back to Slovakia and cut his losses. That was looking like an appealing extension of his original plan.

Beyond the door, Lisbon's heart sped up. She had heard Jane's voice! He was so very close to her, if she looked through the door she might see him! She crept silently forward, crouching down with difficulty over her large belly, and slowly lifted her head while Sarah covered her with her gun held high towards the door. Through a small hole near the bottom of the main crater in the door, what she saw both thrilled her and shocked her.

Jane sat shivering in a wheelchair, his legs and chest covered in dried blood, his hospital gown shredded and his leg twisted out at a painful angle. He sat not 20 feet away from her on a pathway. Karil was behind him. There was nowhere for Jane to run, if he could run, nowhere to take shelter if a gunfight broke out. He was the proverbial sitting duck. How was she going to manage this situation without getting her husband killed?

XXXXXX

Cho crept back and huddled with his men. If Karil was armed, all he had to do was pull a gun or knife on Jane and he had the advantage. Their best option was to take him out with a tranquilizer dart and let him go down easy, no one needing to fire a single bullet in this tight space. The problem was, the tranq gun was far away at their original staging area. Someone would have to make a dash for it and retrieve it before Karil got through that door. Cho assigned an agent to make the trip as cell phones didn't work down here and no one could be called to bring it to them. If they were too late, this could all end very badly.

Karil struggled up the final few feet of the sloping pathway and then Jane found himself right in front of the door. He turned around in the chair and looked at Karil. He hoped that his captor had a key at the very least, or else that door would need a lot more work from both of them to get through it. As Jane craned his neck to look at Karil, he was shocked to catch sight of Cho peering around the corner below them, his finger to his lips telling Jane to be quiet. Jane locked eyes with Cho and swiftly turned back around facing the door, his heart racing with anxiety.

"Can I help you with this door? I can help you knock it down if you give me something to work with?" he suggested, trying to keep Karil facing forward.

"Like hell I'd give you a weapon. Do I look that stupid?" snarked Karil. He stepped forward and picked up the heavy piece of wood with the metal hinge on it and swung at the door, sending splinters into the room beyond.

Jane had to take this chance to save himself, and it was now or never. While Karil worked at destroying the door, Patrick gripped the wheels of the chair and pulled them backwards, rolling himself down the incline slightly away from Karil. With every swing that Karil took at the door, Jane let himself roll further backwards towards the men waiting at the bottom of the incline. If Karil could just stay preoccupied with bashing in the door, Jane could wheel himself back as fast as he dared into the waiting arms of the FBI. Cho watched Patrick make his reckless descent, so close but still dangerously out of reach. Another crack at the door, another few inches backwards… Karil had not checked Jane yet and was focussed on getting through the door. Another mighty swing and the hinges broke, the door fracturing and groaning under the attack. Lisbon and her men clung to the wall in the next room, guns drawn, ready to pounce on Jane and pull him to safety as he came through the doorway.

Jane rolled the wheels as quickly as possible, making good progress backwards, trying not to lose control of his chair as he got further down the slope. All was going well until a wheel hit a large rock and the chair stuttered to a halt. Jane gripped the wheels as hard as possible, trying to rock the wheelchair over the large stone and keep rolling on his way to safety. A final heave and the rock dislodged, sending the chair skittering out of control, and signalling to Karil that something was going on behind his back. He swung around with the wood in his hand and ran for the chair, grabbing Jane's outstretched broken leg as it stuck out in front of him. He yanked on his leg and stopped the rapid descent of his prisoner.

"What the hell you doing?" yelled Karil, as Jane screamed in pain and frustration. His knee was crunching wildly with the stress of being pulled against Jane's body weight.

'My….my chair got loose, the brakes didn't hold… I lost control and hit a rock!" babbled Jane, trying to convince Karil that he was telling the truth. Lisbon heard it all and could have wept at the sound of pain and defeat in Patrick's voice.

"Like hell it did! You were trying to get away!" Karil screamed, pulling out his gun and aiming it under Jane's chin. "You want to die right now, after all the shit we been through? You are a lyin' son of a bitch and I should shoot you right now!" he shouted in a rage.

Cho saw the deterioration in the situation and had to act. He stepped out from the cover of the bend in the pathway and moved out into full view of Karil.

"Don't shoot him Karil!" he yelled. Teresa peered through the crack in the door and saw Cho give himself up for Jane. God this was going from bad to worse. As Karil swayed back and forth in hyped up energy, she saw the gun under Patrick's chin and fell back in horror. Sarah stepped up to her and braced Teresa with her arms.

"Be strong Teresa, and be ready!" she whispered to her friend. Teresa nodded weakly and tried to pull herself together.

Jane couldn't see Cho behind him but knew he had exposed himself to save him. This was the worst possible outcome. He felt the cold metal of the gun dig into his chin, the idea of the bullet smashing through his skull overwhelming.

"Well look who showed up at last! Mr. FBI man! A bit too late to the party Agent Cho aren't you? Looks like Mr. Jane here has reached the end of the line!" gloated Karil, smiling down on Cho. "Drop your weapons, all of them and step up here so I can see you better!"

Cho slowly lowered his hand to the floor, placing his gun down into the dirt, then he stood up, his arms above his head, and walked carefully up the incline towards Jane in his wheelchair. The gun was still grinding into Jane's chin, so Cho had to do whatever Karil told him.

When Cho got halfway up the slope, Karil told him to stop. He threw down a pair of zip ties and ordered Cho to put them on his wrists. Cho complied, not sure how he was going to get Jane out of this mess, but at least he had stopped Karil from shooting Jane in a fit of rage. Tiny steps…

"Sit your ass down and don't move, or so help me your friend here will be splattered all over you Agent!" shouted Karil, tipping Jane's head back farther with the gun. Cho hit the dirt and looked at Jane's panicked face, this day surely a reminder of the torments Katarina had meted out to him only last week. A much weaker man would have gone over the edge by now, but somehow Patrick was holding it together. How much longer he could do it was anybody's guess.

"Well Mr. Jane. What do I do with you, hmmm? If you think I am going to carry your ass across that basement over there and up those stairs, you are sadly mistaken. Either you crawl your way through the door or I shoot you now."

"I can crawl…" croaked Jane, the gun pressing on his larynx. Lisbon's heart was breaking at the sound of fear in Jane's voice.

"You slow me down and so help me God I will shoot you on the spot!"

"I won't… I'll keep up!" answered Jane.

Karil pulled his gun away from Patrick's chin and got behind the wheelchair, pushing it back up the incline, this time with real assistance from Patrick. They got to the door and Karil cut the zip tie on Jane's ankle. Before he could get prepared, Jane was unceremoniously tipped forward out of the chair and he fell hard onto the paving stones, crying out as his leg hit the floor. Pain was so constant now that he hardly remembered feeling comfortable. Wherever Lisbon was, he hoped she was well and coping with his disappearance. If she lost the baby because of this… he couldn't even think about it.

"Get your ass up and crawl to the door!" commanded Karil.

Jane tried to pick himself up and placed his hands underneath himself, one knee on the ground, the other dragging behind. As soon as he moved his hands forward and tried to lift his knee, he fell off balance and collapsed again. He was much weaker than he realized and just couldn't do it. He tried again, and again he tipped over, his knee crunching into the hard ground. He lay there panting, exhausted and knowing he was going to be shot for non-compliance. Karil advanced on him and stood over his shaking body. Bringing his gun forward, he aimed at Jane's head and smiled with relief. He had made up his mind. It was time to kill this bastard.

Patrick put his hands up in a futile attempt to shield his face and closed his eyes, ready for the bullet.

"Karil, what are you doing with my prize?" a voice called out.

Lisbon's head swivelled around and she saw Laila standing closer to the door, speaking to the man on the other side as Katarina.

Karil stopped. That sounded like Katarina! He must be imagining her… how could she be here? It was the anger and exhaustion getting to him… must be.

"Say goodbye Mr. Jane" he said as he pointed the gun at his head once more.

"Karil, stop! I need Mr. Jane alive!" yelled Katarina. Lisbon stared at Laila and saw her give her a small smile… 'work with me' was her meaning.

"I need Mr. Jane. That's why you took him in the first place Karil!" she called out to him.

Karil didn't know what was happening but Katarina was on the other side of the door! He had to talk to her.

"But you were in jail! How did you get out and find us?" he called back.

"Karil, please, you disappoint me. I have friends everywhere, friends you don't know about. You didn't think a few bars were going to stop me from accomplishing my goal did you? I want Mr. Jane to get well so I can continue my work with him and then, and only then, he will get my brother out of prison. Do you have a problem with that Karil?"

'No! No, of course not! I just thought you were going to prison and I wouldn't see you again."

"Karil, how sweet. That prospect would greatly sadden me as well. Do I detect a note of affection in your voice?" Katarina/Laila gambled.

At this comment, Karil was completely shocked. Did Katarina have feelings for him too?

"Ahhh, well… yes. I have always thought you were the most beautiful woman I had ever known Ms. Nemic" he dared to admit. He was so overcome with surprise at hearing her voice he didn't notice that her voice had become far more youthful since the last time he spoke to her.

"Karil, you flatter me, and about time too. I thought you would never have the backbone to admit you had feelings for me. There is room in my heart for more than one man you know" she egged him on, confirming his hopes.

Karil grinned at these words. If he kept Jane alive and got him into the next room before the rest of the FBI showed up, his life would be immeasurably improved. This was turning out far better than he could have imagined! Katarina would surely promote him, and more!

'You! Get up!" he ordered Patrick. "Get through that doorway or so help me …" he warned, keeping his gun levelled at Jane. Cho had gradually scooted his way a bit closer to Jane and Karil while he was preoccupied. If he could just jump him and hold him down while his men rushed Karil then maybe this drama could come to a swift conclusion.

Jane got back up on his hands and knees, and pulled his body forward, dragging his lower half over the sharp stones, grunting painfully but making progress. Lisbon had to stifle a sob as she heard him suffering on the other side of the wall. All she wanted to do was burst through the door with her gun raised and take out Karil, but he had Jane in his gunsights and she couldn't risk getting him killed so close to being rescued.

"Karil, you must hurry, we need to go to a safe house before the FBI comes for me!" called Katarina. "I need you!"

Karil held his gun in his right hand while he grabbed Jane with his left, hoisted him to his feet and started to drag him through the door. As he stepped over the threshold into the dark room ahead, Karil was stunned to look into the faces of Laila and Lisbon, their guns trained on him. His gun was still raised to Jane's head, and now a desperate standoff began. Lisbon kept her gun trained on Karil, her voice even and strong.

"Drop the gun Karil. Drop it now and you will live to see another day. If you shoot Patrick so help me God I will put a bullet right between your eyes."

Karil grinned. He still had the upper hand. He had what they wanted and if they wanted Jane alive, he would make the demands.

"Where's Katarina? Where did you put her? I want her to come back here right now!" he yelled to Lisbon.

"She's upstairs, in custody." Lisbon lied. Laila shrank back against the wall, not wanting him to figure out it was her voice all along.

"You set Katarina free or I kill Jane. No arguments or negotiations. Those are my terms. Get her for me!" he screamed. Lisbon looked at one of her men and nodded at him. A game of charades was now in play.

"Go tell my men that they have to set Ms. Nemic free and let her come back down here. Do it now!" she barked, hoping the young agent would go along with her.

"Yes Ma'am" he agreed, running off across the room and up the stairs. What he would do when he got there was not clear to him.

Lisbon stared at Karil and Jane, who was sagging in his captor's arms, finally unable to help himself. He looked up at his beautiful wife, so sad that she was here in the middle of this mess. He scanned the room and saw several unknown faces, young eager FBI agents on their first real mission, and who was that over there? Laila? Laila was down here? But how… why…?

XXXXX

Once Karil stepped through the doorway with Jane, Cho was rushed by his men who quickly cut his zip ties and handed him his gun. They crept up to the doorway and looked out, hidden behind Karil. Cho could see Jane's limp body hanging off Karil's left arm, while he held a gun to his head. He saw Lisbon with her gun raised at Karil and the other agents also pointing their guns at the two men. An agent crept up to Cho and tapped him on the shoulder, silently handing him a tranquilizer gun. If Cho could make the shot, no one needed to die today. If he could take out Karil fast enough before his finger hit his trigger in a reflexive gesture, Jane wouldn't get shot.

"Well, where is Katarina? Where is she!" yelled Karil, sweating and grinding the gun into Jane's temple.

Teresa had to play for time. Then Laila stepped out and headed for the stairs.

"I'll get her to come down, don't worry. She'll listen to me" she said and dashed off. Lisbon was confused by her actions but glad she was running to safety. Apparently she had a plan. Laila constantly surprised her.

Laila ran as quickly as she could given the poor condition of her shoulder, which was now bleeding again. She took the stairs two at a time and disappeared up to the next floor.

Karil looked at the agents assembled against him and continued the stalemate. Cho inched ever closer, his hand sweating in anticipation of shooting his quarry. There was a scurry of footsteps upstairs and a loud argument between an agent and "Katarina". After much yelling, Katarina called down the stairs.

"I'm coming down, don't shoot! Just give me Karil and Jane and we will be out of here. No one needs to die today!" she commanded in her most imperious voice. Karil turned to look at the staircase, listening as he heard her footsteps returning. Just then Patrick's body gave up the struggle to stay upright. He started to shake and convulse, frothing at the mouth and bucking wildly in Karil's arm. His head flew backwards as his eyes rolled up in his head, then he went completely limp and fell through the crook of Karil's arm and landed in a quivering heap on the floor, convulsing and foaming into unconsciousness. Karil barely paid attention to him such was his fascination with the return of Katarina. Her footsteps got louder and she called out to him, making him turn his attention back to the staircase. As soon as Karil's eyes left Jane, Cho bolted through the doorway and with one perfect shot hit Karil with the tranquilizer dart, then rushed him, knocking him off his feet. Both of them landed heavily on Jane, who had stopped his seizures and was lying deathly still. As Karil felt Cho slam into him his hand flew up, the gun firing aimlessly into the ceiling. Sarah raced forward, knocking it out of his hand while Cho restrained him. Within moments Cho felt the fight go out of Karil's body as it swiftly succumbed to the effects of the tranquilizing drug. Cho rolled off Karil and Jane, dragging his prisoner off to one side while Lisbon rushed over to attend to her unconscious husband. Laila peeked down the stairs to see Karil subdued and Jane free. She rushed the rest of the way and ran to Lisbon's side. Sarah called for an ambulance and FBI van to transport their prisoner to a secure facility. The room filled with agents and cleared a space around Teresa and Patrick. Cho bent down to administer first aid, but there was nothing he could do for the man. He was out cold and in need of a doctor. "Give me a blanket, a jacket, something! The man is freezing" he yelled. Assorted jackets materialized and soon covered Jane from head to toe. Lisbon held Patrick's hand weeping over his decimated body. He was cold through and through, his eyes tightly shut.

"Where's the ambulance! Where is it!" she screamed, covering Patrick with her body to keep him warm. A rushing of feet upstairs signalled the arrival of the paramedics, who had only needed to drive part way up the street to find their patient. The crowd of agents cleared as the medics rushed towards the fallen man. Cho ushered Teresa out of the way to let the paramedics attend to Patrick. IV lines were inserted into his cold veins and solution pumped into him to prevent shock. Within 5 minutes they were transporting him up the stairs and into the waiting ambulance. Cho and the rest of the agents followed closely behind, Teresa and Sarah accompanied by Laila, who was shaken to the core by the events of the day. Her adrenaline rush had crashed and she was overwhelmed with fatigue. Her steps were faltering as she needed to see a doctor too. Sarah put her arms around Laila and helped her walk to the ambulance as well. The FBI SUV's followed the ambulance and everyone arrived at the hospital within minutes. Teresa followed Jane's gurney as he was ushered into a trauma treatment room. Cho made sure Laila was seen by a doctor right away as her injuries were still bleeding. Her involvement today was nothing short of heroic. His admiration for her had just cranked up another notch.

Teresa would not leave the trauma room or Patrick's side, no matter how much Sarah coaxed her to sit down and rest.

Patrick was here, and his wife was not going to let him out of her sight. She had come so close to losing him tonight, no one could make her leave him now.

XXXXXXX


	34. Free At Last

**Thank you for all of the thoughtful reviews, much appreciated.**

 **Disclaimer: Bruno Heller owns the Mentalist and I make no money writing these stories!**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 34 Free at Last

The trauma team gathered around Patrick's bed, doing what they did best. He was still unconscious, unaware that he was no longer a prisoner. He was placed under a heated blanket to get his body temperature up. A full workup revealed a new cracked rib, most likely the result of two hefty men falling on him in the warehouse. His jaw was not damaged any further, but was still swollen and red. The knee would have to be operated on immediately if Jane ever wanted to walk again, so an orthopedic surgeon would be called down to the ER. The convulsions Patrick had suffered at the warehouse and described by Teresa, Cho and Sarah to the ER doctors were extremely worrisome, and so a neurologist was on his way to see why Jane had suddenly become so ill. Blood was drawn, blood pressure taken, temperature checked, rat bites disinfected. The probing and testing continued until a low moan escaped Jane's lips and his eyes snapped open with alarm. As his mind resurfaced, he believed he was still in danger. He fought his imaginary attacker hard this time, shaking his head back and forth in fear and aggression, trying to push his way free of the hands that held him down. Patrick felt more hands restrain him again and knew he had to fight back against his captors, fight and maybe find a place to hide. He raised his arms to ward off the doctors and nurses who were trying to help him.

"Get off! Get off me! Let me go!" he cried out in panic.

A soft voice close to his ear whispered a calming message, breaking through his paranoia.

"Shhh Patrick, it's alright now. Shhhh. Calm down, no one is hurting you. You're in the hospital, and you're safe" said Teresa, grasping his hand and hovering over him so he could see her face. Patrick slowly stopped struggling and looked up at her in wonder, reaching a shaky free hand out to touch her. He didn't trust his eyes. Gently running his palm down her face to make sure she was not just an apparition, he was rewarded with her happy smile in return.

"It's OK, you're safe. We got them all Patrick and no one got hurt" Teresa assured him.

The medical staff waited a moment, to give their patient a chance to get his bearings and see that he was safe. A frightened patient was hard to help.

Patrick stared at Teresa for a good long while, not sure if he had slipped over the edge into fantasy, afraid to believe in what appeared to be real and solid. He touched her face again and lifted her hand to his lips. He kissed her knuckles, feeling her warmth touch his skin, smelling her familiar scent. She was real, out of harm's way. Alive.

A smile broke out on Patrick's face as he hoped that his wife could indeed be standing beside him. He felt warm and cosy, except for the pain he was feeling more and more as his brain woke up and his nerve endings screamed for attention.

"Teresa…. is it you?" he asked, still so confused. Her smile and caress warmed his heart, and he relaxed in her assurance that she was indeed there with him. "I'm here Patrick, here, feel…" she said, directing his hand to her belly. His eyes lowered and he saw their baby outlined against her clothing.

"Relax now sweetie, it's going to be OK" she reassured him yet again.

A doctor touched the broken knee and a loud "Owww!" erupted from Jane, his immediate reaction to the unwelcome poke. Now he was back completely.

"Sorry Mr. Jane, but we have to examine your knee. It has been banged around a lot and needs attention. We will give you some pain meds as soon as the neurologist has checked you out first. You suffered some kind of convulsion at the warehouse and we need to address that before you can have surgery."

Patrick smiled as widely as his jaw allowed and raised a finger, beckoning the doctor close so he wouldn't have to speak too loudly.

"No convulsion."

"Sir, we have witnesses who saw you lose consciousness, frothing at the mouth. This was a serious event".

"No convulsion. Faked it!" smiled Jane, eyes beaming at Lisbon with his own cleverness.

"Patrick, what do you mean you faked it?" she asked, now totally confused. "I saw you have a huge seizure!"

Jane tried to explain. "Laila…smart girl... Laila was Katarina, she…. she faked it. I figured it out….. she left…. and then…... we heard Katarina again. Gave me idea….. take a chance…. distract Karil…. fool him….worked OK!" Jane grinned. "It was fake".

As it all began to make sense, Lisbon smiled with happiness and no surprise at the resourcefulness of her husband. Even at gunpoint, when he was physically at his lowest point, his mind was still working, looking for a way to finally gain his freedom. He had seen Laila and watched her go upstairs. Then Katarina's voice was heard again. Laila and Katarina were never in the room at the same time. Clever girl! So he had tried acting a bit himself, throwing an epic convulsive fit to get Karil to ignore his fallen body. Thank God it worked. It could have gone very badly instead.

"Yes it worked! You fooled everyone, medics included when you didn't open your eyes!" she said.

"Noooo… that was real….let Cho fall on you... he'll knock you out too!" he clarified.

"Oh… so Cho knocked you out? … oops!" Teresa laughed. "Wait til I tell him!"

"Mmmm" agreed Jane, fading fast as the pain meds were streaming through his IV line. If he was faking his seizure, there was no reason to delay giving some pain relief for his injuries.

"Stay.." he mumbled as he floated in and out of wakefulness, that delightful zone between knowing what was being done to him by the medical team and not really caring anymore. It felt good.

The neurologist arrived and was apprised of the news about the faked seizure. Tests would be done anyway just to make sure, and then when cleared, Jane could have his knee repaired. It would take a day or two to line up an OR and an orthopedic surgeon to do it, but soon he would be on his way to recovery.

Once stabilized, Patrick was taken up to the now familiar ICU floor and placed in a quiet room to rest. More than anything, he was suffering from exhaustion, and that wasn't good for his heart. It was important too that he did not get a cold since he had been chilled and damp for so many hours in the tunnels. A cold in his weakened condition could set his recovery back so the warming blankets remained. The nurses on duty gently asked Teresa to let him sleep and come back in the morning. With a final kiss on his unknowing lips, she left him to regain his strength for the night. Teresa took a moment to find Cho and fill him in on Patrick's condition. Cho's eyebrows shot up when he heard about Jane's acting, and also about how he and Karil had knocked him out when they tumbled on top of him. Cho knew he would be facing weeks of teasing from Jane over that event.

"How is Laila? She looked pretty shaky when she came in" asked Teresa.

"The doctor checked her out and said some of her stitches were ripped out, causing the wound to bleed. They will admit her and stitch her up again, keep her in a day or two, then when she is strong enough, she can go home."

"Good. She was a very brave girl!"

Cho nodded in agreement. Fatigue was hitting him like a sledgehammer now that his adrenaline rush was over. Everyone was safe and Karil was in custody. As far as the FBI knew, there was no one else they needed to search for who worked for Katarina. Cho was hoping to close this case as soon as possible and go back to Austin. He was tired and needed his bed too. Jurisdictional issues had to be resolved in the next day or two. The kidnapping occurred in Austin, but the torture, beatings and second kidnapping occurred in Maine. Just who would take over the case and where it would be tried in court was up to his superiors. Quite frankly, Cho didn't care. As long as Nemic and everyone else rotted in prison he would be a very happy agent.

Now that Jane was sedated for the night, Teresa was taken back to the safe house by Sarah, to finally get the rest she so desperately needed. She could visit her husband and Laila tomorrow, when everyone was in a much better state to go over the frightening events of the last 12 hours.

XXXXXXX

The sun rose into a clear blue crisp sky and Teresa sighed deeply, snugly ensconced in her bed in the safe house. She had not slept so well for a long while. Knowing that their enemies were behind bars did wonders for shutting down her brain and allowing her to finally give in to her exhaustion. However, with the sun, she needed to rise and go and see how Patrick was today. She also hoped to see Laila as well. As much as she felt it was totally wrong to take a civilian to the warehouse, Laila had played a decisive role in the rescue of her husband. For that she would be eternally grateful. Sarah already had a pot of decaf coffee on the go in the small kitchen when Teresa emerged from the shower, her wet hair piled up in a towel. Without a word, Teresa walked up to Sarah and gave her a warm hug.

"What was that for?" smiled Sarah.

"That was for everything you have done for me these last few days. I just want you to know how grateful I am that you were with me all the way. You are a wonderful friend, and a great agent. Thank you Sarah!"

Sarah blushed but hugged Teresa back, so happy to see the Jane's reunited last night and on their way back to their lives again.

"Eat up Mrs. Jane!" she teased. "Then I'll take you back to see your husband. I'll be going back to Austin pretty soon, so I'm not sure when we'll see each other again" she said with more than a bit of disappointment.

"We'll stay in touch Sarah, I'll make sure of it. For starters, you're having dinner at our house when Patrick finally is out of the hospital, even if it is just take out." Lisbon assured her.

"Take out is good. I live on it!" laughed Sarah.

"Good, because Jane is the cook in the family and until he is up and walking again, my food could cause more harm than good!" said Lisbon, admitting what Jane always accused her of.

"Ok, sounds good. Now let's eat. Patrick is waiting for you" smiled Sarah, putting out the toast and cereal for her friend.

Breakfast passed pleasantly and then they were on their way, a much happier trip than the last one Teresa took to the Trauma Centre downtown.

Teresa stepped out onto the ICU floor and ran into Dr. Mishra, the first doctor who had spoken to her the night Patrick was admitted days ago. She filled Teresa in on her husband's condition and how he had been all night. It was all good news considering how weak and hurt Patrick was. She thanked the woman and stepped into his room, not knowing what to expect. Sitting up in bed, she saw a much more comfortable looking man, his colour far better than it had been last night. Amazing what hydration, pain killers and just plain old warmth can do for a sick person. She noticed the pain pump attached once again to his arm.

"Good morning my love" she smiled, bending over to kiss his lips. He grabbed her head as she pulled away and replanted the kiss on her lips, this time more slowly and with obvious longing. Any pain in his jaw was worth the more enthusiastic smooch and he wanted it to last more than a few seconds.

"Mmmm… that was nice" Teresa sighed, so glad to have her man back.

"I missed you Teresa" he said, staring at her eyes intently, meaning every word. "I missed you so much it hurt. I was really afraid down there…. I thought it was the end…" he admitted without shame.

"We were doing everything we could to find you. Sarah found the exit on the map, hidden under an old seal. Once we had that, we knew where to look for you" she explained.

"Why were you there? It was too dangerous!" he admonished his wife, eyeing her large baby bump.

"Jane, I am still an agent, and I had to find you. I was in no danger. I had lots of cover. Sarah and Cho took down Karil, I just kept a gun on him while they did their thing" she tried to placate him, knowing he wanted her miles away from the rescue.

"Still too close…. but thanks… glad you found me" he smiled. She leaned in and kissed him again, thanking her God that He had once again given her back the man she loved more than she could express.

"How do you feel?"

"Well the ribs are hurt like hell, but my jaw is better, not so hard to talk now. All the bruises are making themselves known every time I try to move, so I am feeling pretty old right now" Jane admitted. "Glad I got the pain pump again" he smiled.

"So, I take it that half the Maine FBI saw me in my boxers?" he complained with a smirk.

"I'm afraid so…" Teresa teased back. "But don't think of it as underwear. Just pretend it was a bathing suit. Would that help?" she suggested with a grin.

"Not much. At least my 'bathing suit' wasn't a Speedo" he groused.

"Well not to hurt your ego, but we were kind of preoccupied last night. Your outfit was low on the list of important things to notice."

"Good. Glad to hear it" he laughed. He always was a gentleman, and being caught so undressed did distress him.

"Back to you...the neurologist is pleased with your recovery regarding the original concussion. The broken ribs will take time. Not much we can do about those except wait for them to heal" she updated him. "Once your knee is fixed, we can really look forward to your recovery."

Lisbon sat down and poured Patrick a drink of water, handing it to him through his cardiac leads and IV tubing.

"So now what?" she said brightly, hoping to change the subject to something happier.

"I'm going home" Patrick stated simply.

"Ummm, no you're not!" Teresa laughed.

"Yes. I am. So are you" he said with conviction.

"How do you figure that?" she asked, confused.

"Look, I am ok, except for this jaw and pain from broken and cracked ribs, right?" he asked.

"Well, not counting the broken ribs, cracked jaw, horrible bruising over most of your body, and complete exhaustion, yes, you're ok. But you need knee surgery Jane! In a day or two you will get it fixed and you can't duck out of that!" she scolded him.

"Ahh yes, that's the thing. Aren't there orthopedic surgeons in Austin?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye. A big smile broke out on his face and he looked at Teresa, an idea obviously percolating in his active mind. "And hospitals to recover in? I hear they have those in Austin too!"

She smirked as she realized he had a good point. As long as he was OK to fly, they could go back to Austin for the surgery, close to home and friends, a support group they were sorely missing here in Maine.

"I like that idea Patrick!" she agreed, but her face clouded over a bit. "But we have to get your doctor to sign off on it, and we need to find a surgeon in Austin who can do the operation soon, and….we need to arrange a way to get you back to Austin in a hospital bed…"

"Leave it to me and Cho… who can resist us?" smiled Jane wickedly. "I just want to go back and know that you are home in our house. Call someone to come and stay with you if you like. Please Lisbon, I want to go home now" he pleaded, calling up his best puppy dog eyes.

Teresa's heart sped up at the thought of going home, really going home to her little cabin by the pond, with Jane joining her very soon, even if he was in a wheelchair. She would have two babies to care for soon she realized with chagrin. But she couldn't wait. The prospect was exciting and lovely. Together she and Jane plotted their strategy and when it was time for him to rest, she left feeling excited at what the next few days could bring.

XXXXXXX

Cho was coming into the hospital as Lisbon stepped off the elevator. She came over to him and gave him a long overdue hug. He smiled discreetly and hugged her back, happy to finally know that his friends were out of danger.

"I'm on my way to see Laila" he told her. "Want to join me?"

"Sure, that's actually where I was heading" she agreed, walking with him towards another set of elevators on the far wall.

"What will happen to her Cho?" Lisbon asked.

"I've spoken to the AG and no charges will be pressed against her. She was an innocent in all this, working under threat from her Aunt. No one would convict her of anything. I will be arranging transport for her in the next day or two back to Austin. She is going to see who she can stay with until she is strong enough to go back to school."

"I offered to let her stay with me, but with Jane needing so much care, and the baby due in 3 weeks, it might be too much for me" said Teresa, feeling badly to go back on her offer.

"Let's see what Laila comes up with Teresa. If need be we can put her up in a safe house with Sarah watching over her until she is feeling better. She'll be OK." he assured her.

"Thanks Cho" she said. She didn't mention Jane's plan to him, knowing it would be better for Patrick to work his magic with his friend without her intervention.

The elevator opened and they stepped out, showing their badges to the head nurse to gain admittance to Laila's room when it was not yet visiting hours.

Laila was resting against her pillows, scanning out of date magazines when Teresa knocked on her door.

'Come in" called Laila, wondering who could be here now.

Teresa peeked in, followed by Cho. Laila greeted them enthusiastically, glad to have some relief from boredom.

Teresa leaned in and gave her a hug, while Cho shook her hand, ever proper.

"How are you feeling today?" asked Teresa.

"Not too bad actually. They gave me some meds for the pain in my back and that helps. I can't say I'm happy to be back in a hospital after just talking myself out of one" Laila sighed.

"It won't be for long. The doctors are just being careful. Cho tells me you are free to go home to Austin in a couple of days. I know I told you you could stay with me but…." 

Laila interrupted Lisbon. "I called my foster mother back in Austin and told her I needed a place to stay for a little while. She can't wait to see me again and is going to fuss like crazy over me! It will be wonderful to see her again. Don't feel badly Teresa, you need to be with Mr. Jane now. He needs you more than me" she said graciously.

"Thank you for understanding Laila. You are a special girl, and Patrick and I will be forever in your debt for what you did in that basement last night." Teresa assured her.

Laila blushed at the mention of the theatrics she had used to fool Karil.

"Yeah, that was crazy. I didn't know if it would work actually…"

"But what made you think of it Laila?" asked Teresa, surprised at her ingenuity.

"It was Agent Cho!"

Cho looked surprised to hear his name mentioned. "Me? I didn't tell you what to do!"

"I know, I know… but, remember when you came to visit me at the other hospital? I asked you how you got Mr. Jane away from Katarina. You told me you had another agent pretend to be Jan Nemic in another room, out of sight. Katarina was so desperate to see my father that she believed it was him and went out to meet him. That's when you grabbed her and arrested her."

Teresa looked at Cho, this being the first time she learned any details of the minutes leading up to Patrick's rescue.

"Yes, but when did you decide to try the same thing with Karil? How did you know he loved Katarina?" he asked, surprised she used his information to such good purpose.

"I didn't know, but I took a chance that he took Patrick to please Katarina. Why keep Mr. Jane alive for so long except to please my Aunt? When I heard Karil threaten Mr. Jane in the tunnel with the gun, and we all thought he was going to shoot him then and there, I had to do something, so I just became Katarina! It was a gamble, but we didn't have anything to lose. Mr. Jane needed a chance to get rescued if he could just stay alive for a few more minutes. That's what I was trying to give him!" she said in a breathless rush of words.

Cho and Teresa looked at Laila, stunned. She was the key to Patrick's survival, and she didn't seem to realize how pivotal her participation had been to the successful completion of this case. Cho resolved right then to seek a civilian commendation for her from his FBI superiors. A ceremony was in order to recognize her bravery and resourcefulness. Not for the first time, Teresa thought that Laila would make a great FBI agent herself.

They continued their visit and reassured Laila that Jane was going to have a full recovery. Laila looked wistfully at Teresa, so happy that she would be able to take her husband home and share the birth of their baby with him soon.

"You know, I can't understand why I had to have such a screwed up family. All I ever wanted was a Mom and a Dad who loved me, just for me" she said sadly.

"Your Mom and Dad did love you Laila, they just couldn't be happy together" said Teresa, trying to soothe her raw emotions.

"Sure. My father loved my mother so much he killed her. Some love all right" Laila whispered with derision.

Cho and Teresa looked at each other, and Cho decided to speak up. Laila needed to know the truth.

"Teresa is right Laila. Your mother loved you enough to leave your father and start a new life for you here in the States. Your father always loved you, even when you left Slovakia. That's why he always paid for your education and anything else you needed, like school trips and uniforms. He helped your mother financially. He never forgot you."

"So why did he kill my mother then? How is that love?" she said bitterly.

"Laila, your father didn't kill your mother."

Laila looked from Cho to Teresa, searching their faces, not understanding this news. "But my Aunt told me my Dad killed my Mom because she took me away from him. It was payback!" she said, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"It wasn't your Dad. Laila, your Aunt Katarina killed your mother in her kitchen that day. She came to take you back to Slovakia with her, but your mother refused to give you up. She fought for your and tried to make Katarina leave. Katarina killed her that day. If you had come home earlier, she would have killed you too" Cho told her gently.

The news that her Aunt had lied to her for 5 years was too much for her and Laila dissolved in tears, weeping for what could have been if that woman had not ruined so many lives. Teresa held her as she shook and cried, until the tears slowed down and a new thought entered Laila's mind.

"My Dad… he keeps writing letters to me.." she sniffed. "I never opened any of them, because of what I thought he did…"

She looked at Teresa and calmed herself down. "He wrote to me all the time, first from Europe, then from prison after he was caught in Beirut. But I never read the letters" she mumbled to no one in particular.

"Maybe it's time you read some of those letters and sent him a reply. He is guilty of many bad things Laila, I think you know that. But he did not kill your mother, and he always loved you. Maybe at some time, when you are ready, you could let him know that you finally know the truth about that day" Teresa suggested.

Laila wiped her eyes and nodded. She had some serious thinking to do, but her whole life had just changed in the last few minutes. A nurse came in with a tray of food and some pain meds for Laila, so it was time for Cho and Teresa to leave. After their goodbyes, Teresa and Cho left Laila to rest and contemplate what she would do now. The truth opened her eyes finally to the fact that she had always been loved.

XXXXXXX


	35. The Elephant in the Room

**Thank you for all of reviews, much appreciated. Guest reviews are also welcome!**

 **Disclaimer: Bruno Heller owns the Mentalist and I make no money writing these stories!**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 35 The Elephant in the Room

Katarina was pissed off at Cho. She had put on a great show in her cell, ripping up her bedding and appearing to be completely crazy. She was insane, no doubt about that, but aware enough to do a good job of adding some extra theatrics to her activities. She had been unaware however, of the cameras watching her go about her methodical destruction of her cell. She wanted it to look authentically trashed, but the absence of rage when she did it without Cho watching indicated planning and cunning. The psychiatrist smiled as he watched the video and made his notes. If Katarina thought she was going to go to a country club for the mentally ill, she had another thing coming.

As one day turned into another, her anger at being in this tiny cold cell multiplied, until no amount of play acting could stop her true personality from coming out. Cho purposely stayed away, letting the local FBI agents handle their daily exchanges with her. When the psychiatrist finally came to meet with her, she was beyond being reasonable or manipulative, she just wanted out. As he began his questioning of her, Katarina's true nature surfaced, a rich panoply of mental illness and cruelty on display. When asked by the doctor about Marta Kovac, she could not help but gloat over her role in killing the woman in her own kitchen. Under any other circumstances she would have insisted that her brother Jan had killed his ex-wife, the story she had told Laila for 5 years. But now she took a perverse pride in that killing. She was proud of it and felt the doctor should know how powerful she could be. She freely admitted killing Marta and that given the chance, she would have killed her niece too. She figured if the psychiatrist knew, she would not do hard time in a prison but be coddled as a mental patient. That would be a much better outcome than prison until she escaped once again from the institution. She had bribed a guard in Slovakia to set her free, so why not do the same here in America. She had no idea how different her incarceration in a mental institution here would be.

The doctor kept his questions coming, staying calm and non-judgemental as her story emerged. However, once the subject of Patrick Jane was raised, it was her ultimate undoing. At once deeply enchanted with him and furious with the man who would not bend to her will, she gradually deteriorated in front of the psychiatrist until she was ranting and raving, threatening to take Jane again and do worse to him the next time. When she began to describe her tortures of Jane and his suffering, the doctor knew he was dealing with a lunatic. While he tried his best to question her more, it became apparent that she was now living in a fantasy world of her own creation and she most certainly was still a danger to everyone who crossed her path. Katarina's fascination with Mr. Jane was frightening in its' depth and ferocity. She felt nothing when she inflicted pain on her prisoner. She did not understand sympathy, empathy or suffering. Those emotional responses simply did not exist in her. After another half hour with her, the psychiatrist took his leave, a full report of his findings needing to be written. What he had seen in the small cell confirmed that Katarina Nemic was and always would be an immediate danger should she ever find herself free again. No amount of jail time would cool her madness. The list of possible diagnoses was long, from psychosis to schizophrenia with narcissistic tendencies, megalomania, sadism, the list went on. While she could not be found guilty of her crimes if found criminally insane, that defense would rest upon the premise that she did not understand the severity or outcome of her crimes. However, the fact that she gloated over her murders and continued planning to harm Patrick Jane ruled out that defense. A judge would ultimately read the psychiatrist's' report, and would decide if Katarina went to a supermax Federal prison, or a high security facility for the insane. Either way, once incarcerated, she would never taste freedom again.

XXXXXX

Patrick asked to see Cho as soon as possible, eager to lay out his plans for his return to Austin. Cho dropped in to see him that afternoon, after he and Teresa got back from visiting Laila. That emotional visit had been good for all of them. Finally the young woman was going to be able to move forward with her life without looking over her shoulder forever.

Cho knocked on Patrick's door and hear a soft voice call him in. Patrick's bed was raised up and he was smiling broadly as he saw his friend enter. As Cho neared the bed, Patrick extended his hand to shake the agent's hand.

"Thank you Kimball. Thank you for finding me" he smiled, genuinely happy.

"No problem. Had to do it, Teresa would never forgive me if I screwed up!" laughed Cho, embarrassed by the emotion in the room.

"No she wouldn't… please sit… we need to talk" said Patrick, shifting slightly in the bed.

"Ok. What's up? How you feeling?" asked Cho, not sure where this was going.

"Meh… feeling like an old man. Everything hurts. My son is going to run circles around me!" admitted Jane.

'It'll get better. The worst is over Jane. Now you just have to promise not to drive Lisbon nuts while you recover from your knee surgery."

"About that surgery Cho. I want to go home to Austin before the surgery. I need to go home, and Teresa needs to be closer to her obstetrician in case the baby comes early. Is there any way you can arrange transport for Lisbon and I back to Austin so I can have my surgery there?"

This was not what Cho was expecting to hear. He thought his friends would be stuck in Maine for weeks now that Patrick was having knee surgery. But it was a good idea! Cho considered this quietly while Patrick watched his face for clues, was it a yes or a no? Damn that Cho was inscrutable!

"I have to arrange transport for Laila to Austin in a few days when she is released from the hospital. She will be staying with her former foster mother once she gets there, and as a witness, she is granted transport to a safe place until we close the book on Katarina Nemic."

"Same for Teresa and I?" asked Jane hopefully.

"Yes… for sure… but your surgery? I can't do anything about that Jane" said Cho with concern.

"Leave it to me Cho. If I can round up a surgeon and book the operation in Austin, can you arrange for me to be transported back to the hospital there in time? I might need a nurse on board just in case Teresa worries about me" suggested Patrick, getting more excited at the thought of actually leaving Maine.

Sitting deep in thought, Cho nodded his head absentmindedly, planning and figuring it out. When he looked up, Patrick was beaming at him, knowing his friend had come up with something solid.

"Ok. It's doable from my end. But you have to make the arrangements for the medical stuff Jane otherwise the deal is off. Let me know by tomorrow and we can get the ball rolling" deadpanned Cho.

"Consider it done! Thanks Cho. This means a lot to me and to Teresa."

Cho smiled and nodded his acquiescence. Patrick sighed, running his hands through his hair and looked somewhat relieved, but as Cho watched Patrick, he knew he was hiding something. His jolly demeanor was genuine, but a little too happy for a man who had just been through hell.

"So when are you going to deal with it Jane?" Cho asked solemnly.

Patrick pretended to be confused about what Cho was getting at, but he knew. He had planned on avoiding this conversation. "Deal with what?"

"The elephant in the room Jane."

Cho stared at Patrick, daring him to change the subject. "The panic attacks. The night terrors. The fear that Katarina or her men are just around the corner and coming for you…. that elephant".

Patrick looked away from his friend's intense gaze, his bravado not fooling Cho for a minute. He shrugged his shoulders and gave him a small smile.

"How'd you know?"

"I saw you when you woke up in the ER last night. You were in full blown panic mode. You thought the doctors and nurses were Katarina's people hurting you again. Jane, you were fighting them, attacking them. Do you even remember that last night?"

Jane looked at his friend in shock. He remembered Teresa being there, just somehow being there. He had no memory of actually waking up or seeing who was there when he did. He knew Teresa was there, and that was good. He attacked the medical staff? His face must have betrayed his surprise at hearing this disturbing news.

Cho leaned in close to Jane, demanding his full attention. "I've been there Jane. I've seen terrible things, done terrible things in the name of war. But it haunts you. Tours in Afghanistan don't stay over there when you leave, they come home with you."

"I can deal with it, I just need some time".

"Yes you do. You need time and professional help. Jane, I was trained by the military to deal with capture by the enemy, how to deal with torture and how to remain silent, not giving up intel. You are a civilian. You have had no training for this, not even Quantico. How would the average citizen deal with what you experienced? You were kidnapped not once, but twice by the same people, tortured both times. How much even I don't know yet. So what makes you a superman who can deal with it better than everyone else? What?" he said, not backing down in his assessment of the situation. Jane needed to be shown his bleak future if he didn't get help.

"You suffered from what Red John did to you for years and years, never sleeping, haunted by him. You can't let the Nemic's do that to you again. Get some help, for your sake and the family's sake."

Patrick looked down at his hands, nervously twisting the bedcovers, knowing damn right that his friend saw through him. For the last week he had been waking up terrified, sure he was about to be taken. He imagined feeling the chains on his wrists and the ice cold water poured over him before he slowly froze. Even now he still felt Miroslav's beefy hands around his throat slowly choking the air out of his lungs. He saw Karil in every corner, his approach at every sound in the hall, and every time the door opened, his heart banged in fear at not being able to run and hide. He feared waking up to find Karil injecting air into his IV line. The crushing panic made it hard to breathe. Cho knew it all.

"Jane…. this PTSD, if that is what it is, will exhaust you, change you, wear Teresa down just when she needs you the most and destroy your marriage. There is no shame in getting some help. You know intellectually that Karil and Katarina are gone for good, but emotionally - they are still just outside the door ready to take you back to that cellar. You can't do this alone. Get help Jane before you hurt yourself or someone else" he said with finality.

Jane felt sick with the thought of living like this for years without relief. Cho had ripped the bandage off that secret and now he had to do something about it.

'Who… how…. where do I begin?" whispered Patrick, afraid to voice his darkest fears.

"You are still an employee of the FBI, and we have excellent specialists in this field who have helped many people deal with their PTSD. Deciding to ask for their help is the first of many good decisions you can make to get over this. Jane, you will get over this. Don't let this drag you down the way Red John did. That way of handling things won't work when you have Teresa and the baby to take care of".

Patrick raised his head and looked Cho in the eye. He was right. Just going back to Austin wouldn't leave Katarina and the rest behind, they would board the plane right along with Jane, in his head and in his heart. He had to bury them once and for all, but with help.

"Ok. Can you set that up for me when I get back to Austin? I…. I can't do this alone, not again".

"I'll get right on it. You're doing the right thing Jane".

"Thanks Cho. For everything".

Cho stood up and put his hand on Patrick's shoulder, knowing how scared his friend was.

"Jane, I've been there. You'll get through this. Call me if you need to talk".

"Ok, thanks" Jane nodded, a small smile of relief creeping over his face. He felt like a lead weight had been lifted off his chest and he could breathe again. Cho said his goodbyes and Jane collapsed back against his pillows, worn out from his conversation but also glad Cho had made him admit his fear. The time for suffering in silence was over, his attic hideaway long gone. His fears would have to face the harsh light of day. It was about time.

He pushed the pain pump button for the ache in his ribs and his knee and soon fell into a light sleep, dreaming of his cabin by the duck pond. In his mind he picked up his paintbrush and painted another wall in the baby's room, relaxing in the motion of the brush going back and forth, back and forth. When he woke some time later, he felt Teresa's hand running back and forth across his hand, soothing him as he slept.

The smile he gave her came from the bottom of his heart.

XXXXXX

Wylie picked up his phone not recognizing the number. He let out a whoop of happiness when he heard Teresa's voice. He had not heard the whole story yet but he knew Jane had been rescued and at that news the whole office had celebrated. Teresa filled him in a bit on the latest with Jane and Laila, but soon got down to the reason for the call. Jane couldn't use a cell phone in his room so she had to make the arrangements that he needed.

"Wylie, can you get on the computer and find out who the best orthopedic surgeon in Austin is? Research the doctor and give us a name. Jane and I are coming home and he wants his knee surgery done in Austin. Can you also find out if the surgeon could operate this week? If you run into any roadblocks, just let me know OK Wylie?" she said happily, so glad to hear his voice again.

"Absolutely, no problem! I'll send the information I find to your laptop, OK?" he confirmed.

'Thanks Wylie. We'll see you very soon" she rang off.

Step one accomplished. She hoped that the surgeon did not have a wait list 6 months long. Next she called the doctor at the FBI office in Austin and arranged for his nurse to fly to Austin to accompany Jane on the plane, or helicopter, whichever Cho arranged for them. Her excitement was building as the reality of their homecoming became more definite. Next she called her obstetrician back home to book an appointment, since she had missed hers while she was in Maine. Everything was happening fast and she was feeling invigorated by it. This was all happy planning. Next she turned her attention to thinking about the cabin. Thank goodness it was all on one floor, but Jane would need some help when he got home. She would need to rent a wheelchair and get a chair for the shower… what else… her mind spun at the ways to make his homecoming easier. Just then the baby lurched inside her and she doubled over in shock.

"Oh no little guy… not yet… hold on just a bit longer buddy…" she cooed, rubbing her tummy with both hands. Her life had never been dull since Patrick stepped through her doorway all those years ago, but the next few weeks would be positively crazy. She couldn't wait!

XXXXXXXXX


	36. The Truth, The Whole Truth

**Thank you for all of reviews, much appreciated. Guest reviews are also welcome!**

 **Disclaimer: Bruno Heller owns the Mentalist and I make no money writing these stories!**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 36 The Truth, the Whole Truth

Patrick smiled lazily at Teresa, so glad that she was there when he woke up. He reached out and beckoned her to lean over, and when she did, he kissed her so tenderly she melted on the spot.

"Have I told you today how much I love you?" he said softly.

"You can tell me over and over again. And I love you" she replied. Patrick yawned and stretched as much as he dared without disturbing his ribs and knee.

"I can't wait to get out of here and back to the house. I never finished painting the baby's room" he admitted.

"Somehow I don't think the baby will care Jane".

"Yeah, I guess not. I spoke with Cho about going home and he will arrange the flight. Were you able to speak with Wylie about the surgeon and nurse?".

"I called him while Cho was visiting with you. Wylie will send whatever he finds out to my laptop and we can go from there. I will arrange the nurse after I speak with the doctor at the FBI medical centre. We'll get you home Patrick" she smiled.

"Good"

Teresa sat back and folded her hands across her ample tummy. She had so many questions and wasn't sure if this was the time to ask them. Jane studied her face and figured out her quandary.

"You can ask me anything Teresa. Sooner or later it will all come out. Maybe this is the time to talk, before we fly home and I have my operation. You shouldn't have to wait that long without knowing what happened out there at that farmhouse".

"Jane, you just got back, it's too soon, too fresh. Why not just let it go for a while? I can wait" she answered, afraid to dredge up those desperate hours already.

"Teresa, no amount of time will make those memories fade away for me. Every time I close my eyes, I see her in front of me. Every noise I hear is one of her men coming to beat me or torture me. If I hear a squeak, I look for rats on the attack…"

"Rats! Oh God no, not rats?" Teresa interrupted him in shock.

"Rats Teresa, lots of them, in the tunnel, crawling all over me, biting and ripping my clothes…" he looked off into the distance, seeing them as clearly as if they were pouring through the door and running over his bedclothes. "I can't forget what happened".

"Are you still afraid Patrick?' she asked quietly, taking his hand in hers. He turned his gaze to her concerned face and had to be honest if he was going to move forward. This was no time for his usual games.

"Yes. Actually, when you leave me, I'm terrified. I know she can't get to me anymore, but… I can't shake the feeling that if I close my eyes, Katarina and her men will be in my room, ready to continue their work on me" he admitted, his eyes filling with tears. Was it shame or embarrassment he felt in admitting this to his wife? "I am so afraid…" he said with a shuddering breath, tears finally falling upon his cheeks.

Teresa stood up and covered his body with hers, caressing his face and shielding his body from any imaginary foes. If she could have climbed into his bed to wrap herself around him, she would have. She stayed holding him until his shaking subsided and he calmed himself.

"It's going to be OK Patrick, they can't hurt you anymore. They are under lock and key and no one, ever, will set them free. You have to believe that".

"I know it, I do…. but… sometimes… it just all comes rushing back to me and it's so real… " he said, his glassy eyes peering into Teresa's face intently. "Cho says I need help. He thinks it's PTSD... " he admitted.

"What do you think?" Teresa asked him, knowing he had to believe it too before he could move on.

Patrick looked away, biting his lip and twisting his wedding ring around on his finger, his go-to habit when he was distressed.

"I think Cho is right. This is something I can't handle on my own. And I don't want it to come between us and the baby. You need to be safe, from people out there… and from me…" he said quietly. He had become concerned that he might turn on Teresa if he got panicked again.

"You would never hurt me Patrick, not intentionally. If you do suffer from PTSD, then we will get you the help you need and we will be stronger than ever, you and I. You have been to hell Patrick. No one emerges from that unscathed".

Jane nodded and sighed, glad Teresa now knew what he and Cho had discussed. This honesty thing was coming easier and easier to him every day, and it felt good not to hide his troubles from Teresa. He was going to need her strength and no nonsense attitude so much in the next few months. He loved her more and more each day. He took a deep breath and began his story.

"After I got to Maine, they took me to a barn and Katarina had her men hang me up by my wrists for a couple of days, just to wear me out. They beat me up every once in a while, didn't give me water for 2 days… and never any food. Laila snuck into the barn late one night and gave me some water. Tasted so good" he remembered with a smile.

"Why? Why was she so cruel to you Patrick?" asked Teresa, fearing the answer.

"Why? Because I was the one who lead to her brother's capture. She blames me for Jan going to prison, just me. Since I put him in jail, I had to pay".

Teresa imagined her husband suffering alone and in pain hanging in the barn and had to suppress tears to let him continue. He needed to get it all out finally.

"When she got angry enough at me for not caving in to her charms, she took me out to a small building behind the house. It's only purpose was for torture. I thought I was going to die out there" he said, grimacing at the memory. "I tried so hard to stay positive and figure out a way to escape, but her men tied me to a chair and threw cold water on me. They they turned on an industrial air conditioner right over my head and left me there to freeze to death. It took a long time. I don't remember much after I lost feeling in my body… I shook so badly I thought my teeth would break".

Teresa held his hand tightly, not daring to speak and interrupt his chain of thought.

"I knew I was dying of hypothermia. It's strange, knowing intellectually what is happening, the stages your body is going through, knowing that this is how you will die...it's bad at first, but after a while, you stop shivering and just shut down. Then you go to sleep and don't wake up again. After that, I don't know what happened, whether my heart stopped, but Laila broke open a window and let in warm air, rubbed my chest and arms to get my blood moving again. I think she saved my life that day".

'She was a brave girl" said Teresa, numb with shock.

Patrick nodded his head, "Yes… she took a big chance of getting caught by Katarina and being punished. It wasn't the first time she helped me. I owe her a lot…"

"So do I. She gave you back to me" whispered Teresa, hurting so badly for her broken husband.

"Katarina wasn't finished with me after that. Her grand idea was to physically break me and then turn me into one of her obedient men. Clearly she didn't understand me at all"" Patrick laughed weakly. "Her ultimate plan was for me to break her brother Jan out of jail. She tried to beat me into submission in my cell, but I escaped. I found a nail and picked my cell door lock and then picked another lock and got out of the house".

"Katarina had a cell in her basement?" asked Teresa, surprised that Katarina had planned so far ahead.

"Yes. A cell just for me. Aren't I special?" asked Patrick mockingly. "Just to keep me for as long as possible. I got out and found Laila outside. After that we just ran and ran, until I couldn't run anymore".

"How did you end up back at the farm? What went wrong?"

"I walked on in the rain until I took a turn in the woods. It led me to a small hill. My shoes slipped on the wet grass and I fell down the hill, breaking my knee on the way down. When I stopped, Katarina's goon was sitting there on an ATV waiting for me. One good punch and I was out. When I came to, I was back in her basement. That was a very dark moment for me…" his voice trailed off as he remembered that dank horrid place.

Lisbon changed the subject, to help Jane over the memory.

"Laila said you told her to run ahead and get help. That was very brave of you Patrick. She got away and found the highway. Eventually, she was brought to Cho".

'Hmmmm. And then she got shot".

"Yes. But she led the FBI to you. What was Katarina doing with you in the basement when they found you Patrick?"

Jane shifted uncomfortably in his bed as a nurse came in with a cup of tea for him. He gratefully accepted it, needing a break from his horrible memories. Teresa gave him a soft cookie to dip into his tea and suck on for a sweet treat. Soft food was on the menu now, as he desperately needed to gain back the weight he had lost so quickly.

"Acting like a mother already!" he grinned. "Keeping cookies in your purse!"

"Hey, they are for me and the baby… I get hungry!" she teased back. "But I think you need them more right now" she smiled, happy to see him tuck into the sweet confection.

"This is delicious. Best cookie ever!" moaned Jane, relishing the taste.

They sat in companionable silence as he enjoyed his snack, Teresa nibbling on a cookie too. She would find a decaf coffee later. Only a few more weeks and then she would be able to drink the real thing again.

Jane finished off his tea and set his cup aside, taking Teresa's hand in his, kissing her knuckles.

"So what now? Are you sick of hearing me moan and groan about my adventures, or are you up for the rest of the sordid tale" he said more lightly than he felt.

"That's up to you Patrick. I want to know what you went through so that I understand how you feel. But not if you can't talk about it anymore today."

Patrick smiled at her and lay back against his pillows, feeling wonderfully safe at the moment. He decided to plunge ahead and get more out, like throwing out garbage and cleaning house. The hard work had to come before he could finally move ahead with his life.

"While Cho was looking for me with Laila, I had been brought back to the farm by her henchman Miroslav. I never knew his name while I was there. She had him chain me to the wall in her basement and told me to give up and join forces with her. When I refused, she had Miroslav choke me with his hand until I couldn't breathe anymore. Left his fingerprints all over my neck so I'm told" he motioned, his hands glancing across his throat as he spoke. "Later Katarina showed me videos of you and I back in Austin. We were followed around by one of her men and he filmed us everywhere we went for days leading up to the kidnapping. Then, the videos were just of you, when I was gone. They even had film of the inside of our house, and of you sitting alone in the living room drinking tea. When I saw that her men were at our house, I just lost it. All the fight went out of me. By then I had reached my limit. And then her man started to beat me."

"Oh Jane!" cried Teresa. "Oh God not again…"

"It went on until I passed out. When Cho broke in apparently Katarina had a knife at my throat. But I was so far gone by that point I had no idea." His hand absentmindedly reached up and felt the healing cut along the side of his neck.

"Whatever happened after that is something of a mystery to me, but I just remember waking up in the ICU and you were with me, like an angel. Best day of my life" he smiled wanly.

Teresa kissed his lips and hugged him gently. He clearly was exhausted from his recollections, if not physically, then certainly emotionally. She wanted him to stop now. He needed to think about better things if he wanted to sleep tonight.

"Thanks for telling me what happened at the farm. Let's not talk about it anymore today."

"There's more…. when Karil took me…" Jane offered.

"I know. But that can wait. You need to rest and replace those thoughts with better ones. Like how nice it will be to take a shower with me when we get home. Like how wonderful it will be to sit on our front porch with a decent cup of tea looking at the sun going down over the pond".

"Like sleeping with you again, and loving you again. That will be the best medicine Mrs. Jane. Can you be my doctor?" he said with a mischievous grin.

"Well of course, if Junior here gives us a few days before his appearance!" she smiled.

A light knock on the door announced the arrival of a nurse, telling Teresa to leave to let Patrick sleep. Patrick looked stricken at the thought of her leaving.

"Ok, will do!" agreed Lisbon. After the nurse left, Patrick turned to her.

"Please don't go!" he implored her.

"Don't worry, I lied. I won't go until you are asleep or unless they throw me out. But I do have a gun… so they wouldn't dare!" she laughed.

Jane visibly relaxed when he heard this and took her hand in his. He settled back against his pillows as Teresa stroked his hair and ran her palm across his forehead. He depressed the pain pump button and sighed in its' immediate relief. As she stroked him gently he gave in to his tiredness and gradually fell into a restful sleep, snoring lightly. When she was sure he was out, she tiptoed out of the room and found her way back to her safe house. She had some calls to make and then she could rest. Hopefully she would be sleeping in her own bed very soon.

XXXXX

Wylie had done his research and had sent a short list of 3 names that Lisbon could contact regarding Patrick's surgery. She would use every trick in the book to convince one of the doctors to operate on him as soon as possible. The information was waiting for her when she got back to the house. As soon as she was settled, she got on the phone and was soon talking to the after-hours receptionist at the first doctor's office. As hard as she tried, she could not get past the officious woman, trying to explain her needs. She finally gave up and moved on to doctor number two. She was surprised when he picked up the phone himself. Dr. Davidson was just on his way out and she had been lucky to find him at his desk. Teresa lost no time explaining her problem and Jane's needs. Dr. Davidson settled himself down again at his desk and listened intently. He had heard snippets of the news reports about the kidnapped FBI man and the young student also taken against her will. He was shocked that somehow that news story had now drawn him into the picture.

"Would you be able to operate on Patrick some time in the next couple of days? He has had a broken knee now for days and days and it really needs to be fixed if he is ever going to walk normally again. When he got kidnapped a second time, it disturbed his knee and made the injury worse. I am due to have a baby any day now, and if we get stuck in Maine…" she blubbered, hoping to win him over.

"Mrs. Jane, hold on… please… relax. Let me look at my schedule for the next two weeks". Dr. Davidson was fully booked, but some of his surgeries were elective, and not emergencies, so they could be re-scheduled. More serious cases had to be seen on time, but maybe there was a bit of wiggle room. Their plight moved him immensely and he wanted to help.

"Would you be able to meet me in St. Mark's Hospital in downtown Austin day after tomorrow? If you send me Mr. Jane's x-rays and MRI results, I can study them right away and plan his surgery. If it looks like I can help you, I can operate in two days time" he smiled into the phone.

"Oh yes! Absolutely! I will get the doctor here to forward those tests to you and we will be there, just tell me what time and where to meet at St. Marks. Thank you so much for doing this on short notice. You are so kind!" she gushed. What wonderful news! He told her the additional information she needed and she got back on the phone to speak to the Trauma Centre, to have Jane's medical records sent over to Dr. Davidson ASAP. Next she rang Cho on his cell phone and told him the good news. It was what he had been waiting for and he finalized the flight back to Austin immediately. They would leave in the late afternoon, once the medical flight arrived from Austin with the nurse on board. Everything was coming together and Lisbon couldn't wait to tell Patrick the good news. She left a message with the doctor at the FBI office to assign one of his nurses to board the flight and then, she finally relaxed, her work for the day done. Her baby twisted in a tight little ball as she showered and got into her pajamas. Sarah would be coming in the safe house soon, and then they would both settle down for the night. Tomorrow would be an exciting day for all of them!

XXXXXXX


	37. Exodus

**Thank you for all of reviews, much appreciated. Guest reviews are also welcome!**

 **Disclaimer: Bruno Heller owns the Mentalist and I make no money writing these stories!**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 37 Exodus

Jane awoke early the next morning, feeling both excited at the prospect of going back to Austin and nervous about his upcoming surgery. His leg had been left in a brace for almost a week now and he hoped it was not too late to undo the damage he had incurred in his fall down the slippery hill. Any little movement sent shards of pain through his knee and up his thigh. He had been trying to get by with minimal use of his pain pump, but after his long sleep all night he was in desperate need of some drugs. He depressed the button and waited for the lightening up of the screaming in his damaged knee.

A light knock on his door prepared him for a visitor. Lisbon had warned the staff that he was very jumpy and scared if someone just barged in, so they were careful to announce themselves first so as not to frighten Jane. He looked up and was happy to see Dr. Mishra come in with her tablet in her hand. She checked her notes on his health and then came over to examine him.

"So I understand you are tired of our hospitality here in Maine and you want to go back to Austin for your surgery" she said as she checked his ribs and abdomen for swelling and pain.

"I have no complaints about your fine establishment, but home is calling me. I need to get away from all the bad memories here, no offense" he explained. "Plus if my wife goes into labour here, it will delay our return home even longer".

"Well I can't honestly blame you for wanting to see familiar faces again. I just hope all goes well with your knee surgery Mr. Jane" the doctor smiled, as she turned to examine his jaw. It was coming along nicely, the swelling going down each day. Then she checked his eyes. They would indicate how well his concussion was healing. She was pleased with the results.

"How are your shoulders feeling?" she asked, flexing his arms and pressing on his tendons. When she hit the spot where Katarina had ground her heel into his shoulder, he let out a small cry.

"Still pretty tender isn't it?" she said, writing in her tablet.

"You have a stiletto ground into you and see how you feel" Jane groused, remembering that day in the barn. The doctor blanched at the revelation of what Katarina had done with her shoe. She quickly resumed her professional demeanor.

"I am going to suggest a rigorous schedule of physical therapy for you when you are well enough after your knee surgery. Since you will need it to get you leg bending anyway, you can get your shoulders working properly again at the same time."

"Ok, anything to get home" Jane promised.

"I have signed off on your care as of the time you board the aircraft this afternoon. Until then you are still under my care. I understand the FBI is sending medical personnel to take care of you on your return flight?" she asked, new to all this FBI involvement.

"I have left all that up to my wife and Agent Cho, but yes, I expect I will be poked and prodded all the way to Austin" he smiled, not minding that prospect at all.

"Well all things considered, you are healing well Mr. Jane. You may eat very soft food, or purees, clear soups, protein shakes, as long as you don't overwork your jaw. Everyday you will notice it is easier and easier to move it, but don't crunch down on anything solid or you will just re-fracture it. I will instruct your doctor in Austin to put you together with a nutritionist when you can eat again. You have lost a lot of weight and we need to build your strength up again."

"Thank you Dr. Mishra. Much appreciated. I'll be a good boy!" Jane smiled.

"Send me a photo of the baby when he comes OK?" she smiled as she shook his hand. "Be well Mr. Jane. You are a resilient man" she said as she headed for the door. "I'll see you later this afternoon when we head for the airport. I'll arrange an ambulance for you and your wife to travel to the airport".

"Thank you!" he smiled, so happy it all was working out. He picked up a magazine and was soon deeply engrossed in an article about Stonehenge when his door banged open and an unknown orderly entered his room, shuffling towards his bed. Jane reacted in panic, his hands flying up to his face in alarm. The orderly stupidly approached the bed without seeing how terrified the patient had become. Jane didn't recognize the man and freaked out. Was this another of Katarina's men? Before he had time to think he let out a wail of fear, calling for help and drawing as far away from the man as possible without falling out of the bed. Dr. Mishra ran back into his room followed by the Head Nurse. Jane was cowering in his bed, his heart racing and his face contorted in anxiety.

"You there! Out! Out of this room!" shouted the nurse. Dr. Mishra took the man aside and dealt with him harshly.

"Did you knock on the door and announce yourself to this patient? Didn't you read the instructions on the door?" she barked.

"Uhhh… no… I just wanna get my chores done so I can get downstairs early for lunch" he mumbled, not understanding what all the fuss was about.

"Get out, and go to the HR department immediately. Wait there for me and we will have a serious talk!" said the Head Nurse, furious at what he had done.

He looked dumbly at the angry staff and backed out of the room, not sure what he had done wrong but sure that they were picking on him for no good reason. Dr. Mishra and the nurse quickly approached Jane and assured him he was safe, not under attack and that he could relax. The nurse handed him a cup of water while Dr. Mishra checked his heart, listening to it race against his ribcage.

Jane swallowed the water and fell back against the pillows, embarrassed by his outburst and angry that someone had gotten to him so easily.

"It's OK Mr. Jane. That orderly will be disciplined very severely for not following orders. He really is on staff and means you no harm. He just wasn't thinking" explained the Head Nurse. Dr. Mishra added a very slight sedative to Jane's IV solution and stayed with him until he was completely calm and lightly dozing. She was furious. Her orders were plainly posted on his door for all to see. If she had to post a guard on his door until he left for Austin in a few hours, so be it!

Teresa came off the elevator and knocked on Jane's door. When she was called in, she was surprised to see the Head Nurse and the doctor standing by Jane's bed. Immediately fearing the worst, Lisbon rushed over to his bed and grasped his hand.

"What is it? What happened?" she demanded to know, not taking her eyes off her husband. Dr. Mishra explained the scare he had had and Teresa was angry. He didn't need any more stress. She decided right then that until they flew out of Maine, she would not leave his side. She could call Sarah to pack up what few belongings she had left at the safe house and bring them to the airport later. But Patrick would not be left alone again.

The doctor and the nurse left Teresa and Patrick alone, fuming about the incident. The Head Nurse immediately went down to the HR department and chewed out the dim-witted young man, who was promptly put on probation. He couldn't be around sick people if he couldn't follow orders. Teresa sat with Patrick and waited until his sedation gradually wore off. In half an hour he was awake and holding her hand.

"How are you now?" she asked him.

"I feel foolish" Patrick admitted.

"Well don't. Honestly, if that had been me I would have been hiding under the bed!"

"Hard to do when you can't actually get out of the bed!" groused Patrick, his embarrassment turning to anger. "An orderly…. of all people…. just like Karil…I have to get a handle on this anxiety of mine. Get over it." he said to Teresa.

"And you will, but Karil took you just the other day Patrick, give yourself a break. You have been through a traumatic experience, and unless you are somehow different from everyone else, you will need time to process the whole thing with help."

Patrick looked chagrined, and looked at Teresa sheepishly. "I always took pride in not being just like everybody else" he grinned.

"Oh trust me, you are not like everybody else, in almost all ways you are quite unique!" Teresa teased him. Then she turned serious. "No joking now Patrick, I mean it. Give yourself a break and be kind to yourself, OK?"

He smiled up into her face. "Yes Mum".

"Are you ready to go home?" she asked, happy to change the subject.

"More than ready. I just need to get washed and press my suit and I will be all set!" he grinned.

"Well the washing I agree with, but it will be a while before I have the pleasure of seeing you in a suit again. But I kind of like you in the tight T-shirts and dark jeans Jane. It's pretty sexy!"

"Really? If that's the case I will try to accommodate your fashion preferences. By the way, whatever happened to my clothes at Katarina's farm? I liked that shirt and those jeans were new" he complained.

"I'll ask Cho, but they might be considered evidence Patrick. I'll get you replacements when we get home".

There was a slight tap on the door and a nurse stuck her head in.

"Would you be interested in a bit of lunch before you leave us Mr. Jane?" she asked.

"C'mon in… what's for lunch today? Pheasant under glass? Pad Thai? Turkey and stuffing?" Patrick asked, actually quite hungry now.

"Well, no. No exactly. How about a protein shake, yogurt and some applesauce?" she grinned, putting it all in front of him on a bed table.

Jane peered down at it in amusement, but smiled up at the young woman warmly.

"This looks just fine. Thank you very much!"

The nurse left with a smile on her face and Teresa turned to Jane with a puzzled expression on her face.

"Since when were you so happy to get this mush for a meal?"

"Ever since I went for more than a week without food at all, that's when. So no complaints from me" he said, picking up his shake and slurping it down. He attacked the rest with gusto and very soon there was nothing left. As he was finishing it off, a tap on his door announced the arrival of Cho, with a surprise visitor.

"Mind if I come in with a friend?" he asked.

"Come in! The more the merrier" said Patrick, glad to see a familiar face. Cho stepped in and right behind him trailed Laila in a wheelchair. Cho came over and shook Jane's hand. Laila wheeled herself over and waited for them to acknowledge her.

"You're looking better today Jane" smiled Cho. "You ready to take a trip?"

"More than ready. Can't wait actually. When will our flight get here?" asked Jane, beaming at the thought of leaving.

"Another couple of hours. The plane is in the air right now" Cho confirmed, before turning and motioning for Laila to come forward.

"Someone wants to check up on you" Cho explained with a smile.

Teresa stepped out of the way and let Laila stand up and walk over to the bed, tears streaming down her face in a sudden rush of emotion.

"Mr. Jane… I'm so glad to see you again!" she sniffed. "I've been worried about you!"

"Well thanks to your acting skills, I'm doing just fine. Thank you Laila for stepping up and putting yourself at risk for my sake" he said seriously, taking her shaking hands in his and holding them.

"Agent Cho said I could fly back to Austin on the same flight as you and Mrs. Jane. I hope you don't mind" Laila said, still not over her guilt in the whole affair.

"That would be wonderful. Of course we don't mind!" said Patrick, with Teresa nodding her head in agreement. "How are you feeling?".

"Oh, my stitches pull a bit and my shoulder needs some therapy, but I'll be fine in a few weeks. My former foster mother Mrs. Milroy will fuss like crazy over me until I am well enough to go back to school. I can't wait for that day" Laila said wistfully.

"Will you come and visit us when I am out of the hospital?" Jane asked, surprising Laila with his invitation. "I think we could both benefit from talking about what we went through".

Teresa looked at Patrick in surprise, glad he was already trying to move on with his life and picking a good starting point.

"I would like that very much. Thank you!" agreed Laila. "I've got some thinking to do too. My whole life changed in the last week, and I haven't quite got a handle on it yet" she admitted.

"Mine too. But we are not alone in figuring it out Laila. We just have to take the first step, scary as it seems" Patrick smiled. He had decided to get counselling as soon as possible, so he could be as fear free as possible for himself and his growing family. "Baby steps eh?"

"Yup. Baby steps. Speaking of which…" Laila reached down and pulled a package out from behind her wheelchair. "I understand you have a little boy on the way?" she smiled as she handed Teresa and Patrick each a gift.

"I hope it's Ok, I didn't have much opportunity to shop…" she said with a small grin.

Teresa smiled as she took the gift and opened it, to reveal a tiny plush airplane in shades of white and blue.

"It's so sweet! Thank you Laila!" she beamed.

"I thought it would be fun for the baby to play with, but for me it also symbolizes our flight back to our real lives, a trip back to normal" Laila explained. Teresa nodded her understanding, giving Laila a hug.

"And now let's see what I get!" smiled Patrick. He opened his gift wrapped package with curiosity, already knowing what it could be.

Under the paper he found a beautiful coffee table book, 'A History of Maine'. It was filled with beautiful photographs, articles about the history of the state, maps and quizzes. It was a treasure trove of information.

"I hope Maine doesn't always represent something bad for us Mr. Jane, since it is such a beautiful place. I thought this way you could learn good things about it and see it for what it really is, a wonderful State" Laila explained.

Jane smiled broadly at his gift. Books were one of his favourite things to receive or buy for himself, and this one would definitely help to replace bad thoughts with better ones. It was a great gift.

"Thank you Laila, that is a wonderful idea. I will become an annoying expert on the State before you know it!" he smiled.

"Sadly, he's not kidding!" groused Teresa sarcastically. They all settled in for a visit until it was time for Jane's visitors to leave as the flight was due to arrive soon.

A nurse came in to help Jane get washed, and also washed his hair for him. He moaned with pleasure as she massaged his scalp, so long overdue. He brushed his teeth and then he was ready to get changed into fresh pajamas and a robe for his trip. In another hour, a gurney was sent up from the ambulance bay and two attendants helped to load Patrick onto it for the trip downstairs. Dr. Mishra arrived to oversee his exit from the hospital, and Teresa never left his side throughout the whole procedure. As the elevator doors slid open and his gurney was pushed inside, Patrick turned to see the staff on the ICU stop their work to wave goodbye to him. He was touched by their kindness and waved them goodbye until the doors closed and he started his descent. All the way down he grasped Teresa's hand while he beamed like a kid in a candy store. Teresa leaned over and kissed his face and was happier than she had been in a long time. So what if her husband was just going from one hospital to another? They were going home, leaving all the evil behind them, sitting in cold jail cells.

The elevator reached the first floor and Dr. Mishra, Teresa, the two paramedics and Jane made their way to the ambulance bay, where Cho, and Sarah stood waiting with Laila. They would follow the ambulance to the airport and send Laila off with the Janes. Cho and Sarah would follow the next day on a regular flight.

"Well will you look at that, a welcoming committee!" smiled Patrick, seeing his friends waiting by the doors. As the gurney was pushed outside towards the waiting vehicle, Jane turned his face up to the clear blue sky and basked in the crisp sunny weather. He leaned back and took a deep breath of fresh air, his first in many days, and smiled. Teresa laughed at his trademark reaction to sunshine and ran her hand through his freshly washed hair.

"If you're finished sunbathing Mr. Adonis, I think we have a plane waiting for us" she teased.

"Yes Ma'am!" he answered, saluting her happily. At that, the paramedics hoisted his gurney up into the ambulance, arranged his IV pole and pain pump and strapped him down for the trip. Teresa sat close by and held his hand. Dr. Mishra signed some papers releasing him from her responsibility and stepped back, where she and Cho, Sarah and Laila all said their goodbyes before the doors slammed shut. A moment later the vehicle pulled out and started on its' way to the airport outside of town. Cho and Sarah got into the SUV while Laila said her goodbyes to the doctor, then she strapped herself into the car and they left, following the ambulance.

Patrick settled back against his bed and sighed, the excitement of the move thrilling but tiring. He checked out the interior of the ambulance, taking it all in, his naturally curious mind needing to see and take note of everything new around him. Teresa finally relaxed and sat back, just enjoying seeing her husband so happy. As long as the baby could just wait for another week or two, everything would be fine.

45 minutes later they pulled up to a secluded part of the tarmac reserved for private flights and the attendants got Jane ready to exit the ambulance. Cho pulled in a few minutes later. Waiting for them was not only a nurse but the doctor from the FBI office in Austin. Teresa was surprised to see him, but happy too. If she went into labour or Patrick had a setback, it was great to know they had all the care they would need. The paramedics carried Patrick up the ramp and into the plane, which had a space cleared of seats in the back, and a bed strapped to the wall of the aircraft. After transferring Jane to the bed, the paramedics took their gurney and left to return to the hospital. Cho and Sarah said their goodbyes to Laila and then came over to Teresa and Patrick. As the nurse got Jane settled and adjusted his IV and pain pump for the trip home to Austin, Cho leaned in and placed his hand on Jane's shoulder, smiling discretely at his friend.

"You've been to hell and back. You deserve nothing but happiness now" he said seriously. "Take care of yourself. I'll see you soon".

"Thanks Cho. See you in Austin" said Patrick, moved by Cho's words.

Cho hugged Teresa and smiled at her. "Don't have that baby before I get back, OK?"

'Deal, I promise!" she grinned. "G'bye Cho".

Sarah called her goodbyes from the front of the plane as she signed paperwork and then, she and Cho had to leave. The engines started their heavy whining and a slight vibration echoed throughout the cabin. Laila strapped herself in and so did Teresa, while the doctor and nurse sat close by Patrick, ready for takeoff. Another 10 minutes and they were airborne. Patrick turned his head and looked out the window by his pillow. It was beautiful down there, the fall painting the countryside in rich hues of orange and red, green and gold, against a deep blue sky. It was truly breathtaking, and he smiled deeply as he said goodbye to all of it. Home was always better.

XXXXXX


	38. The Beginning of the End

**Thank you for all of reviews, much appreciated. Guest reviews are also welcome!**

 **Disclaimer: Bruno Heller owns the Mentalist and I make no money writing these stories!**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 38 The Beginning of the End

Jane and Teresa settled into the flight, relaxing as best they could on an airplane. Laila dozed in her seat, still recovering from her injuries. Every half hour or so either the doctor or the nurse checked Jane's blood pressure, his heart, temperature and general comfort level in the tiny bed. The doctor even checked Lisbon's blood pressure, to make sure she was healthy during the trip. Teresa and Patrick passed the time chatting quietly or playing cards, always a bad idea when Jane was involved, but it was fun and the time quickly slipped away. Laila got up and came back to visit with the Janes for the last time before she left the aircraft and went home with her foster mother Mrs. Milroy. Laila was finally over her shame about being part of the kidnapping of Patrick. He had convinced her that she was also a victim in this scenario and as such, she had had no choice but to play along. The weight of guilt had finally been lifted by this unusual man. The fact that his wife bore her no malice was equally remarkable, and she felt encouraged to pick up her life where it had been disrupted and carry on, working towards her goals.

4 hours later they were making their final approach to the airport in Austin, their private ambulance waiting for them. Mrs. Milroy was also waiting to take Laila home to recuperate. As the familiar sights of Austin Texas came into view, Patrick could not stop smiling at Teresa. For a man who had resisted settling down for so long after his first family died, he now cherished his cabin by the pond outside of town and the memories he hoped to create there. Unfortunately it would still be some time before he finally arrived at his house, but it was getting closer with each passing day. The aircraft started its' descent and touched down some distance away from the commercial airplanes coming and going with their hordes of passengers. Once security had cleared everyone, Patrick and Teresa said their goodbyes to Laila and saw her off into the waiting arms of her foster mother. They smiled at the scene of that happy reunion, secure in the knowledge that Laila would be well taken care of now. Two paramedics boarded the aircraft and helped the doctor prepare Jane for his exit from the plane and took him down the ramp towards the waiting ambulance.

"Here we go… the final step Patrick. After this week we will be home for good" smiled Teresa, holding Patrick's hand as he was wheeled towards the open doors of the ambulance. "Just a few more days OK?" she encouraged him.

"Yup, just a few more days." he smiled, taking in the bright sun and heat. While it was getting cold in Maine, it was still very warm in Texas. At this rate he would be able to sit outside and recover from his knee operation from the comfort of his front porch. And soon, he would be holding his newborn son at the same time. The prospect made his heart swell in happiness and anticipation. The gurney was lifted up and secured inside the vehicle and once again Jane was strapped in for the short ride to the city centre and the doctor waiting for him at St. Mark's Hospital.

Jane turned to Lisbon and beckoned her closer to him.

"You know, I never told you the rest of the story, about what happened when Karil took me" he said seriously. "You need to know all of it if we are going to deal with it together."

Teresa nodded, suddenly serious herself. "You know best what you want to tell me Patrick, and when you want to talk about it. I won't pressure you at any time, you know that" she assured him.

"When I get settled at St. Mark's, I want to tell you the rest, before my surgery and before we go home for good. Once I start counselling, I don't want there to be any surprises for you if I get agitated by something you didn't know was a trigger. I've been thinking about what Cho said, and talking it all out and facing the boogeyman living in my head is something I want to do the sooner the better."

"Good, because I want you to be free again too, just like Laila finally is" she said, bending down to kiss his lips.

She took his hand and ran her fingers over his wedding ring. "I love you Patrick."

"I love you Teresa." He put his hand on her large belly and let it rest there, enjoying the tumbling rolls of his son inside his cramped quarters. "I think he wants to stretch his legs" he smiled.

"Don't I know it! And every time he does it feels like he has a surfboard in there with him. All pointy and sharp! It hurts!" Lisbon groused, but with a big smile on her face.

"Surf board eh? That is something I love to do..surf... I'll have to teach the little fella when he is old enough" suggested Patrick.

"You can surf?" Teresa asked in amazement. What couldn't this man do?

"Well when the carnival circuit was down for the winter sometimes I would hitchhike down to the coast and surf with some of the older guys. They taught me a lot and I have never given up the hope of doing more of it. When I was away for those two years I actually taught some tourists how to surf, for some spending money. It helped to pass the time." he said wistfully.

"Everyday I learn something new about you Patrick!" Teresa marvelled.

"Yes, that's me, Patrick Jane, man of mystery!" he teased.

"I like to think I have you pretty well figured out by now Mr. Jane" Teresa said, which got a rise out of Patrick.

"Maybe pretty well, but there is so much going on up here" he circled with his index finger around his head "that will always be top secret, locked away in the memory palace, under lock and key" he grinned. "Just to keep you on your toes wifey!"

"Wifey!….. keep in mind I carry a Glock… hubby!" she glared back at him.

"Duly noted and filed away. Such aggression. Very sexy!" he teased, his eyebrows inching higher and higher.

"Hush now!" she scolded him, seeing the paramedics giggling behind their hands as they worked.

Jane grinned back,thoroughly enjoying her discomfort and the general silliness of the banter. This is what he had missed, the nearness of his wife and the wonderful connection they shared. As the ambulance picked its' way through downtown traffic they laughed and teased each other until the vehicle slowed down and they realized they had arrived. After a few minutes of maneuvering the ambulance into the ER bay, they stopped and Patrick was unstrapped and readied for transport into the hospital.

"Two hospitals, two states, all in one day, a new record for me!" grinned Patrick, gripping the sides of the gurney as he was pushed along through the doors and into the cool building. Teresa stayed with Jane while they put him into a curtained cubicle, waiting for his new doctor to arrive and introduce himself.

"Could you bring me a good cup of tea once I'm settled?" Patrick asked, his desire for real tea and not the hospital dreck once again making itself known.

"Yup, as soon as possible. Earl Grey or Oolong? Or something else?" Teresa asked, knowing his tastes were varied and changeable.

"Ceylon if you can manage it, but otherwise just good tea" he replied, already imagining it going down his throat.

Just then the curtain parted and a tall lean doctor with a bright smile entered their cubicle.

"Mr. Jane? Mrs. Jane? I'm Dr. Davidson, we spoke on the phone" he said to Teresa, extending his hand. "I wasn't going to be able to see you until tomorrow at the earliest, but I was just notified you had arrived so I thought I would steal 5 minutes and introduce myself. How was your flight?"

"It was wonderful! It's just good to be home again" smiled Patrick, shaking Dr. Davidson's hand.

"Well I can't stay, and your attending physician will be down shortly, but I just wanted to say hello. I'll examine your knee tomorrow and get you prepped for your surgery. Sound good?" the surgeon stated.

"Sounds good! Thank you so much for helping us at short notice" said Teresa, happy at the way things were turning out. The doctor left and shortly thereafter they were joined by another doctor who would be the primary caregiver for Patrick while he was in the hospital. Dr. Stanton was a young dark haired man who wore wire rimmed glasses. Lisbon thought he couldn't possibly be old enough to be a doctor. She suddenly felt old, while Jane eyed the young man with suspicion. They exchanged pleasantries and soon Jane was on his way up to his medical nursing floor to wait for his surgery.

"Don't even think of giving Dr. Stanton a hard time Jane!" Teresa muttered after they were settled in a room.

"Why do you say that? I was completely gracious to the boy wizard!" Patrick said, looking offended.

"He's not a boy wizard, he's a fully accredited doctor, so don't play any of your tricks on him. He is the one controlling your medications don't forget!" Teresa warned him.

"Bet he made you feel old… am I right?" laughed Jane, seeing Teresa's smirk.

"Be quiet you!" she groused, knowing it was true.

"Well when he gets out of Hogwarts you can ask him how old he is!" Jane continued to tease.

"I'm warning you Jane, no tea for you if you keep this up!"

"Ouch! the ultimate threat. OK, I'll be nice to Harry Potter…"

"Jane!"

XXXXXXX

After Cho and Sarah bid the Janes and Laila goodbye at the airport they headed back to the small FBI office where Miroslav and Katarina were being detained. The powers that be would still be responsible for their ultimate incarceration at a larger prison either in Maine or back in Austin. Cho decided to visit Katarina one last time before he left the next day. First, he watched her through the security cameras aimed at her cell. She was pacing and pulling on the bars, like a caged bear. Her cell was tidy again, all of it due to her frustration that no one bothered to clean it up for her after she shredded it. Since no one seemed to care that she had pulled that stunt, and she couldn't sleep on her bed until it was reassembled, she reluctantly made up her bed as much as she could with ripped sheets and tidied her cell. She was largely ignored, which for her personality was the worst punishment. Her enormous ego constantly needed stroking and she required those around her to quake in fear of her authority. None of that was happening and she was pissed. She had thrown around any books or papers that were in her cell, but Cho noticed she had picked them up and was now reading them when she was not pacing her cell. Any signs of obvious craziness were now absent, since there was no audience to sway to her advantage. Cho grinned and decided to just get it over with and then he could go home to Austin, his part in this case done until the trial occurred months from now.

The buzzer rang signifying to Katarina that she had a visitor coming in. She immediately sat down and started to rock back and forth, mussing her hair up slightly to look a bit more deranged. Cho noticed immediately and smirked, but said nothing. He approached her bars and crossed his arms over his large chest. He stood and watched her, saying nothing, waiting to see how long she could hold her tongue until she had to speak first.

It took five minutes of them staring at each other, but finally Katarina broke first and launched herself at the bars, her teeth bared like feral cat, sneering at her captor in a rage.

"If you don't release me you will never be safe, got that Agent Cho?'" she hissed. "If you think you can go back to your safe little life and leave me here you are mistaken. I have men everywhere just waiting for my signal and then you will never have another day of peace in your life! Understand what I'm saying? Patrick Jane thought he could just go back to his life as if nothing had happened in Beirut and I soon made him change his mind. I can do the same to you Agent Cho. Kimball Cho isn't it? There's not too many people going by that name in Austin Texas….. makes it so easy to find you…. " she grinned, playing her old game of intimidation and fear mongering. She had sadly underestimated her adversary Cho.

He uncrossed his arms and approached the bars separating them.

"Senior Agent in Charge Kimball Cho of the Austin FBI, the only Kimball Cho in Austin as a matter of fact. I am very easy to find. So how about I wait right here while you call one of your army of darkness and tell them where to find me. I'll be here in Maine until tomorrow, then I fly home, even easier to find me. Who will it be Katarina? Who will come and get me like a ghost in the night? Will it be Pavel? He's already in Austin, the most logical choice would be to use him. But sadly, he's in a prison cell right now. Strike him off your list. Who else? Luka? He's dead Katarina. Don't bother with him. Next…. how about Miroslav? We have him in custody and he will be in prison before you can blink. That leaves Karil Packovsky."

At the mention of Karil's whole name Katarina looked shaken. She thought he was still free enough to do some harm.

"Karil was a total screw up. Fell for the same scam as you did, and we nabbed him. He's sitting in a cell waiting for his drive up the road to prison as well. So who are you going to call Katarina, on the phone you don't have, on the internet you will never use again, on the outside of these stone walls that you will never escape from. You belong to the state now Ms. Nemic. You answer to the state, no one answers to you."

"Just wait and see, when my brother Jan finds out what you did he will send his men out to get you and then we'll see who answers to whom!" she barked.

"Yes. About Jan. We went to see him. Did you know he's the one who had you put away in that asylum in Slovakia?"

Katarina blanched at this news, finding it impossible to process. Her beloved brother would not turn on her like that!

"You're lying! He would never do that! He loves me and wants me to work with him again!" she shouted at Cho.

"He doesn't love you Katarina. He threw you out of his business and you ran. We went to see him and when he found out you kidnapped his daughter, he told us to find you and lock you up forever. His exact words to me were that when we do find you, we should put you in a cell and throw away the key."

Katarina stumbled back against her bed in horror. Her fantasy of her brother never dealt with his rejection of her. She had always erased that memory and replaced it with her own magical thinking about his supposed love of her. Cho couldn't be telling the truth, he was a liar! She lunged at the bars and pounded them with her fists.

"Liar! Liar! You're lying! Jan is waiting for me, I know he loves me! He never loved Marta, he only loved me! He will kill you for keeping me in here! You mark my words, when he finds out he will kill you!" she screamed in a fit of passion, her world crumbling around her.

"Jan hates you for killing his wife and for kidnapping his daughter" Cho said quietly. "Any chance you ever had to reconcile with your brother was lost when you did those two things. He is dead to you now. Ms. Nemic, you are totally alone, and you will die in prison."

With that Cho turned and exited the room to the wails of hysteria from his prisoner. He didn't care that he had wound her up and left her in an emotional shambles. If he could have done worse to her legally, he would have, but such as it is, he had done his best to destroy her world one final time. He left the building and never looked back.

XXXXXX


	39. Goodnight My Love

**Thank you for all of reviews, much appreciated. Guest reviews are also welcome!**

 **Disclaimer: Bruno Heller owns the Mentalist and I make no money writing these stories!**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 39 Goodnight My Love

Evening had set in and Patrick was settled into his pre-surgery room. There was nothing much to do and he planned to enjoy whatever food came his way before the surgery put an end to that. Teresa left for a short time and found a wonderful Ceylon tea blend which she put in a funny I LOVE TEXAS mug. Not exactly the fine china Jane said had to be used to fully savour decent tea, but she made do under the circumstances. She also had managed to find a good decaf coffee for herself and some soft pastries for Jane to nibble on gently. His soft diet was starting to get boring.

She kicked the door softly to announce herself and came in with the bag of goodies, to Jane's immense pleasure. He sniffed the air and his beaming smile assured Lisbon she had found the right tea to make him happy.

"Here you go… Ceylon blend, Texas mug, a pastry to suck on and coffee for moi…" she mumbled, setting everything down on Jane's bed table.

"Thanks, it looks wonderful. Not sure about the mug though... " he smirked, knowing Lisbon would respond in kind.

"Beggars can't be choosers Jane!" she snarked right back at him.

"Touche cherie!" he laughed, taking an appreciative sip of the warm nectar. His eyes rolled up in instant pleasure and he sank back against his raised pillows, happier than he had been in a long time.

Lisbon tucked into her pastry and coffee and sat by his side, waiting for him to open up about his experience with Karil. By the time Jane had finished half his tea and managed a few nibbles of his pastry, he set them aside and took Teresa's hand in his.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked, needing to know if she wanted to hear more about his odyssey in the tunnels with Karil.

"When you're ready, I will listen. Only when you want to" she assured him. Jane put his hands behind his head and tried to relax as much as possible.

"He drugged me. Must have been Karil, since you would stay if you brought me tea, but I found tea on my bed table and drank all of it. I kept expecting you to come in but eventually, I couldn't stay awake and fell asleep. The guard on the door must have been drugged too for Karil to get past him with me" Jane posited.

"Yes, he did. He gave the guard a drugged coffee, and as soon as the guard fell asleep he pulled your bed out of the room. A student nurse actually helped Karil pull your bed to the patient elevator and helped get you into the lift. From there onwards, you simply disappeared."

"I hope the student nurse didn't lose her position. It wasn't her fault" Jane said, sad that another innocent girl was dragged into all this.

"After Cho interviewed her it was clear that she thought it was a normal patient transfer downstairs and she was not punished. She'll be OK Patrick"

"Good…. good…" he said, lost in thought. "I woke up when he had me down in the tunnels, by then out of the bed and zip tied to a wheelchair. It was cold and damp, and I was wearing almost nothing. We were in some kind of long storage room, and he stood watching me behind a large lantern he kept with him. It took a while before I knew it was the orderly "Phil" since he stayed in the darkness outside the circle of light."

"You mentioned rats Patrick. Did you see rats down there?"

Jane sighed and ran his hands through his hair, the memory of those moments coming back in a flood of crushing emotions. "There were rats everywhere, but they were afraid of us if we kept moving and talking. When Karil left me alone for about 20 or 30 minutes, the rats got bolder and came out to investigate me."

"Oh Jane…."

'S'ok, they stayed back as long as I made noise and moved a bit, and they ran away altogether when Karil returned."

"What did he want Patrick?"

"At first he just had a good time hitting me, in the head with his fist, then in the gut, you know, just to be show me who was boss, and to make sure I didn't talk much" he smirked, not feeling any amusement in the situation.

"He beat you while you were sick, tied to a wheelchair and unable to defend yourself? What kind of man does that?" Teresa asked in shock.

"The kind of man Katarina hires. That kind… He decided to punish me for asking what was going to happen next, so he took out a syringe and stuck it into my arm. He threatened to inject a syringe full of air into my vein and kill me with an air embolism. How's that for a neat way to finish someone off?" he said quietly in disbelief. "After that I didn't question him or aggravate him for fear of pushing him over the edge. I had to stay alive in case Cho was on the way."

"How did you manage to persuade Karil to keep you alive, against his original plans? It must have been pretty convincing."

Jane nodded his head in agreement, remembering that important conversation, the one that ultimately stalled Karil long enough for him to be captured.

"His big plan was to hide me and kill me, then walk away. He hoped it would take a long time for me to be found and by then, he would be long gone."

"So why didn't he do that Jane? What changed his mind?"

"I pointed out to him that if Katarina ever managed to get out of jail and she found out he had killed her only chance of breaking her brother out of jail, she just might kill him in retribution. He was desperate to be her number one man, to displace Miroslav and move up in her crime organization. I had to convince him that he dare not kill me, I was too valuable to his boss and therefore, to him."

"Smart move" Lisbon admitted.

"The only move I could make. His weak ego needed to be reassured that he could actually profit by keeping me alive until I broke Katarina out of jail. I told him I would break her out and then her brother. A win-win for him and Katarina" Patrick smiled, pleased at how well his desperate plan had actually worked out.

"So then he had to lug you around and get both of you out of the tunnels. That must have pissed him off. You slowed him down and he couldn't just run" Lisbon realized. "That was a good way to give Cho and the rest of the police a chance to figure out where you had been taken."

"I hear you were a big part of that Teresa, you and Sarah" Jane said with a satisfied smile.

"I tried to stay on the sidelines like a good pregnant wife, but I just couldn't do it. I had to get in there and see what was going on, and Sarah and I did find the exit on the map. Then we got our FBI guys to come with us to the other building to wait for you and Karil to surface."

"I'm glad you did" Patrick smiled, kissing her knuckles and appreciating her tenacity.

'What happened next Patrick? After you convinced Karil to keep you alive?"

Patrick shivered involuntarily, remembering the rats attacking him. "Karil left me alone for a long time, to think about my proposition, and to find the exit ahead. That left me alone in the room with no light and no way to keep the rats away."

"Oh God Jane… no..."

"At first they were scared of me, so they stayed far away. Eventually, no matter how much I tried to scare them off making noise and moving my chair a bit, they got bolder. One rat jumped up onto my foot and I couldn't shake him off. When the others saw that the rat was safe, they all came over and started to crawl all over me. On sat on my chest and looked at me for a while, another bit me in my stomach to get under my clothes, another chewed on my leg…"

"Oh God.." Teresa mumbled, her hand over her mouth in shock.

"The largest rat climbed up the back of my wheelchair and sat on my shoulder for a while, checking me out. He came around my ear and was going to go for my face when Karil returned. He scared them away. Hard to believe it but I was very glad to see him come back" Jane said, a feeling of revulsion coming over him as he recounted his story for his wife.

He told Teresa about their struggles pushing the wheelchair through the soft dust of the tunnels, and how Jane finally talked his way into getting the zip ties cut off. By the time he talked about approaching the old wooden door, Teresa knew the rest of the story. She knew that he had come dangerously close to being killed by Karil before Laila began her impersonation of Katarina. She encouraged Patrick to finish his tea and his pastry, as he looked completely wrung out from reliving his nightmarish journey underground.

"How do you feel now that you have told me the whole story? Are you distressed, or was it a bit liberating?" Lisbon asked, a logical question.

Patrick sipped his cooling tea and took his time answering. How did he feel? Was he feeling frightened all over again, or did talking about it with the person he loved somehow release some of his demons? He wasn't sure of anything, but he felt that on the whole, he felt better, lighter, his burden shared was a burden halved.

"I think I feel better actually. Now you know what I went through, we can talk without being afraid of saying the wrong thing to each other. Right?" he smiled at his lovely wife.

"I think so. I always feel better when I take my problems to someone else, either you…. or God… someone I trust" she grinned.

"Well I have you… I'm good with that" said Jane, happy he opened up at last. Just then the door opened and Dr. Stanton came in with Jane's chart. For once, Jane didn't startle when the door opened without a warning. Baby steps on the way to recovery.

"Hello again. I just thought I'd see how you're doing now that you're settled in. How are you feeling tonight Mr. Jane? What is your pain level right now" he asked as he checked the pain pump.

"I'm doing alright, maybe a 5 out of 10, not needing as much medication as I did a couple of days ago" Patrick had to admit, eyeing the young doctor with a gleam in his eye. Teresa noticed and hoped he wouldn't say anything to embarrass the young man.

"Good, glad to hear it. I think some of the swelling has gone down in your knee so the pain level has evened out. In a day or two you won't even need the pump anymore. You'll be in good hands when Dr. Davidson fixes your knee."

"I'm glad to hear it. We were so happy he could operate on Patrick on such short notice" agreed Teresa.

"Your story is all over the news, and no one should have to go through what you went through. You'll find everyone here wants you to get the care you need so you can go home and look forward to your baby. Anything we can do to magic up a quick trip home we will do" smiled Dr. Stanton.

Patrick couldn't help but snicker when the boy-wizard doctor mentioned magic and Teresa was going to give him a whack if he said something annoying. Before she could make a move, Patrick noticed something pinned onto the white coat the doctor wore. He leaned over towards the doctor and peered at the metal badge and smiled up at him in amazement.

"Gryffindor? You have a house Gryffindor pin on your jacket?" he said with a broad smile.

Dr. Stanton looked down at it and grinned, looking even more boyish than before.

'Oh so you recognize it? Usually it's just the kids in the pediatrics department who figure out what it is… when you have a face this young and these round glasses… and your first name is Harrison, you just go with the flow and let them call you Harry Potter!" he laughed. "At Halloween I paint a scar on my forehead and wear a Hogwarts school cape when I treat the kids here" he smiled, loving the fun of it all. "I can't change the fact that I look so young, so I just use it to my advantage to make it fun for the kids."

Jane was beaming now, his opinion of this man doing a 360 degree turn. Anyone who embraced this silliness and used it to make sick kids happy was OK with Patrick.

"Dr. Harry Potter. I am very happy to have you take care of me, even without the cape!" he laughed.

"Well good, I'll do my best. Can't let all my training at Hogwarts go to waste!" the doctor played along.

Patrick was suitably impressed. He and Dr. Stanton had found common ground, living outside the expectations of other people, and in Jane's opinion, that was a good thing.

"Take it easy tonight and early tomorrow morning you will be prepped for your surgery. If all goes well, you should be home recuperating in two or three days" smiled the young man.

Jane and Lisbon smiled broadly at that bit of good news. Dr. Stanton left them alone to chat before it was time for Lisbon to leave for the night.

"Relax and have a good sleep tonight OK?" she said as she kissed Patrick goodnight. "I'll come early tomorrow morning to be with you before they take you down for your operation."

As she turned to go he grabbed her hand and pulled her back towards him. He stared at her for a long moment, taking in her lovely face, round belly and beautiful green eyes.

"What is it Patrick? Are you alright?" Teresa asked, suddenly concerned.

"I'm Ok… it's just…" he sighed heavily. "I wish you could stay with me tonight."

Lisbon returned to his side and leaned in against his chest, holding onto him warmly. "Me too, but I don't see how we can manage that."

"I know, I'm just being a baby… but the last time you left… it didn't turn out so well for me" he muttered, feeling foolish just saying it out loud. Teresa looked at Patrick and kissed his face, loving him so much it almost hurt her heart. He had suffered so much, more than she would ever begin to understand, and it killed her that she could not manage to give him this one small comfort.

"If I could, I would, but I don't see how I can…" she explained. There was a quick rap on the door and Dr. Stanton peered around the corner.

"Sorry, just wanted to have one last word before I go home" he said. "Or should I come back and give you some time…" grinned, seeing them in a tight embrace.

Lisbon straightened up and looked sheepish. "No no, come in…. Patrick and I were just wishing we could stay together tonight. There is no guard on the door and he is feeling a bit … vulnerable" she said, hoping Patrick wouldn't mind her telling the awful truth. He just smiled tightly, nodding his head in agreement.

Dr. Stanton entered the room and read some notes on his chart. Lisbon wondered what he was waiting for. After a few minutes he approached them and looked like he had made a decision of some sort.

"I am not familiar with all of the details of your last few days Mr. Jane. However, I do know that you were kidnapped over a week ago, and then taken by force from your hospital room and kidnapped again. I can't begin to imagine how traumatic that was for you and your wife. Now, normally we do not allow co-habitation between family members unless children are patients and in distress….. however…. I for one have always thought rules were only suggestions, guidelines… barriers to individual ingenuity…" he smiled conspiratorially.

"And?" asked Jane, allowing a small smile to creep across his face.

'And I believe, from a purely medical standpoint, that it would be foolhardy of me to allow Mrs. Jane to leave the hospital when she is so clearly ready to deliver that baby. What if you went into labour on the way home with no one to drive you back here? What kind of a doctor would allow that?" he said to Teresa with a wink.

"Yes! What kind of doctor would do that?" echoed Jane, getting on board with this subterfuge.

Lisbon looked surprised and a bit confused, but waited to hear what he was coming up with.

"So, as a concerned physician, I do believe it would be in the best interests of my patient, Mr. Jane, to remove any worry he may have about his wife, and therefore make his night more restful before his surgery. For medicinal reasons Mrs. Jane should remain by your side Mr. Jane!" he pronounced with a flourish of his pen, writing something on the chart.

"I can stay?" asked Lisbon asked in amazement. "But how, where?"

"Leave that to me. I can conjure up something I'm sure" Dr. Stanton grinned.

Jane definitely liked this doctor now. "Give me a minute to organize something and then we'll get you settled OK?" he asked Teresa.

"Oh, OK!" she replied, happy and surprised.

Dr. Stanton exited the room in a rush and left Patrick and Teresa staring at each other in amazement.

"I think he is magical!" said Teresa, smiling at her equally happy husband.

"Well his is a Gryffindor" smiled Patrick, realizing he just got his wish.

Ten minutes later the door opened and a smiling nurse appeared, empty handed. Jane looked disappointed, thinking it wasn't going to happen. Then another nurse came in, smiling as widely as the first.

"Ready to go for a ride?" the first nurse asked Patrick.

"That depends. Where are we going?" he asked, thinking back to the last time his bed got hijacked by Karil.

"Just across the hall, to a semi-private room. We have two empty beds in there and we can use this room for someone else if need be. Dr. Stanton wants Mrs. Jane to rest in the other bed, in case she needs to be taken up to the maternity ward tonight" the girl answered with a twinkle in her eye.

As the women proceeded to push Patrick's bed out of the door, Lisbon just had to ask a question.

"This Dr. Stanton… does he do this kind of thing often?"

The nurses looked at each other and just giggled. "Oh yes! They broke the mold when they made that one! We just never know what he's going to do next."

"Does he get into trouble when he does something like this?" asked Patrick, recognizing that Harrison Stanton was a kindred spirit.

"All the time!" said the second nurse. "But we love it!" With that they pushed open the door to the second room and pulled an empty bed out of the way, making room for Jane's bed by the window. They pulled back the curtains so that both beds were open and available to each other. One of the nurses went to a cupboard and brought out a hospital gown and a robe for Teresa.

"It's not fancy, but it will do for a few hours until tomorrow morning!" the girl said, handing them to Teresa with a smile.

"We'll leave you two alone now. Just hit your call button if you need anything Mr. Jane" said the first nurse as they both left the room, pushing the empty bed back to the other room.

Patrick turned and looked at Teresa, a goofy smile plastered on his face.

"Come here woman!" he ordered Teresa with his index finger beckoning her. She stepped up to his bed and he immediately embraced her in a bear hug and kissed her deeply.

"For medicinal purposes only…" he sighed, as Teresa smiled back at him. They stayed wrapped up in each other's arms until tiredness overtook them. They had started the day early in Maine and it was now getting late in the evening in Texas. Teresa finally got into her gown and lay back in her bed, watching Patrick until he fell into a relaxed and comfortable sleep.

Maybe there really was such a thing as magic after all.

XXXXXXXXXXXX


	40. Ready Steady Go!

**Thank you for all of reviews, much appreciated. Guest reviews are also welcome!**

 **Disclaimer: Bruno Heller owns the Mentalist and I make no money writing these stories!**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 40 Ready, Steady, Go

Teresa slept soundly throughout the night, letting her guard down for the first time in almost two weeks, knowing that her husband slumbered only a few feet away from her in his own bed. That knowledge let all of her anxiety fall away and gave her a peace she hadn't realized she needed. Patrick had also fallen asleep easily. When he had awakened in the middle of the night he spent a long time watching Teresa. He studied her relaxed face and small form, the large hump in the sheets underneath which lay his son, curled up and waiting to make his entrance into the world. A sense of gratitude and happiness flooded through Patrick as he watched his wife sleep so close to him he could almost reach out and touch her. When the night nurse came in to check up on him later she found his arm stretched out towards his wife's hand which had fallen out of her bed. She smiled at she put Patrick's hand back under his covers, happy this couple had been able to be together once again.

Hospitals wake up unreasonably early and so it was for Teresa and Patrick. It was just after 6:30 when Lisbon roused herself and saw that her husband was still sleeping, so she hopped out of bed and got herself washed and dressed, ready to start her long day waiting for his surgery. By 7am Patrick was awake and being tended to by his nurse Penny. She had her morning physical checkup to do on him and then she began to prep him for his surgery. Lisbon stayed to keep him distracted and amused while Penny went about cleaning and carefully shaving his knee and whole leg. Patrick was now open to all sorts of teasing by Teresa about his formerly masculine, hairy leg. Now it was hairless and smooth, just like Teresa's!

"Nice leg there Mister!" she teased. "You should use Nair next time for a truly close shave. Great for the beach!" she laughed, running her hand up and down his smooth leg.

"I might just keep it this way woman! Maybe I'll have Penny shave the other one to match. Would you like that?" he grinned.

"Fine with me, I'm not the one who would have to explain that to everyone on the beach" Teresa shot back.

"Well by the time I am beach ready it will be back to normal so no worries" Jane smiled.

The door opened and Dr. Stanton came in accompanied by Dr. Davidson. Teresa was glad she was up and dressed.

"How was your night?" Dr. Stanton asked, smiling at both of them.

"Best night's sleep I've had in a long time!" admitted Jane, and it was true.

"Good. Because we're going to knock you out and you get to do it all over again this afternoon" smiled Dr. Davidson.

He approached Patrick's bed and pulled an x-ray out of a paper sleeve and showed it to both Jane and Teresa.

"You have some torn ligaments in your knee and a dislocated kneecap. That alone would have caused a great deal of pain. There are bone chips under the kneecap and swelling pushing out the back of your knee, causing a large bursa behind your knee. We need to reduce the pressure inside the joint to stop the swelling as it will cause scar tissue to build up and limit mobility more and more. There are a number of issues going on in and around the knee itself, so we will do a cleanup and put everything back where it belongs. Sound good?" asked Dr. Davidson.

"As long as I can get up and walk again, it sounds good to me" said Jane, not really wanting to know the nitty gritty details of his bum knee. "How soon can I go home?"

"If all goes well and there are no complications like infection or swelling, I'd say two days from now. You will need to rest, but as soon as the pain level is tolerable, you must start physical therapy to get the knee working again. We can make those arrangements for you when you check out" said the doctor.

"Ok, good!" beamed Patrick. Two days was bearable. Today he would sleep away, so that just left all day tomorrow and then, the next day would be his going home day. He felt like he was anticipating a summer vacation such was his joy. Dr. Davidson examined Patrick and his knee, eliciting a hissing whistle of pain when he moved the swollen joint too much.

"You won't have that pain when I'm done with you" he promised. "We plan on taking you down for surgery at noon, so still nothing to eat or drink today, and we'll give you a pre-surgical sedative a little while before we take you downstairs." Turning to Teresa, Dr. Davidson spoke to her specifically.

"You may stay with Patrick until we take him through the doors at the OR. He'll be in good hands and safe. Please don't worry."

Teresa nodded her head, and smiled, not entirely happy to let her husband out of her sight, but that way of thinking had to stop eventually. Might as well begin today.

Both doctors left the room and Teresa came over to sit on the side of Patrick's bed, careful not to jostle any part of him that still hurt. The deep gash on his forehead was well on its' way to being fully healed. The jaw injury was coming along nicely and the swelling was gone, allowing Patrick to speak normally now. The broken and bruised ribs would continue to heal gradually, along with his knee, so all things considered, he had made a good recovery considering the trauma he had endured so recently. There was a knock on the door around 10am and Cho poked his head around the corner, smiling deeply.

"Cho! Come in! How did you get here so soon?" asked Teresa.

"I took the first flight out of Maine and came right here from the airport. I wanted to see you both before you had your operation Jane" he said evenly. "How are you doing - OK?"

"Yup, OK. I'm in good hands." Patrick assured him. "What's going on with Katarina and her men?"

Cho gave a slight smirk and pulled up a chair.

"I went to see her yesterday after you flew out, and she was in a rage. She's fed up being in a cell, and has been doing some play-acting to make it seem like she is non compos mentis and not responsible for her actions. She doesn't know we have her on tape putting on a show for me and for the psychiatrist."

"Did it fool the doctor?" asked Teresa, worried that Katarina would not get a harsh enough sentence if she convinced the doctors of that.

'Not for a minute. She is conniving and a sociopath, a sadist and many other things. She is going to do hard time no matter which way the psychiatrist describes her condition. Either hard time in a supermax prison, or hard time in a locked down mental institution for the dangerously insane. There will most likely be no trial after the judge confers with the doctors examining her."

"Good, because I don't want to ever see her again" said Jane, taking Teresa's hand and giving it a squeeze.

"And Miroslav, Pavel and Karil? What about them" continued Teresa.

"Pavel will be charged with stalking and life endangerment and will do some time. Miroslav and Karil have a laundry list of charges against them and will be tried either in Maine or Austin, that's still to be decided. Karil in particular will be tried for kidnapping you twice Jane, so he will get life in prison or the death penalty. Miroslav could get the same depending where his trial is, but no matter what, he will spend his life in prison."

Jane nodded his head and was happy to hear that these evil men would no longer be a threat to his family. He just hoped he would not have to testify at their trials. But if he did, he would drive the nails into their coffins with his testimony. For now, he just needed to get well and go home and wait for his son to be born. Nothing else mattered.

Cho stayed to visit for a long while until a nurse came in with a tray in her hands. Cho took that as his signal to leave.

"Can you wait with me while Patrick is in surgery?" asked Teresa.

"Sure will. How about I get us some coffee while you sit with Patrick until he goes to the OR?" he suggested. Teresa smiled her thanks and he left. The young woman had brought Jane's preoperative sedative and added it to his IV solution.

"This will make you very relaxed and then you will get a bit sleepy. Once you are in the OR, Dr. Davidson will have the anaesthesiologist give you a deeper sedative and you will be out. When you wake up you will be in the recovery room. Sound good?" she asked cheerily.

"Sounds good. Relaxing and sleeping I can do" Jane assured her. The nurse left the room and Patrick and Teresa sat together, discussing their baby and what needed to be done yet at the cabin. His plan had been to get everything done in plenty of time so that there were no unfinished projects to worry about when Teresa went into labour. The can of blue paint was still sitting on the floor in the baby's room and Jane wanted to finish the paint job.

"Don't worry about it. I'll ask Wylie and Cho to come out and finish up whatever you need them to do, then we'll order in some pizza and open some beers. Might be the last time we can do that before the baby comes!" smiled Teresa.

"Ok" smiled Jane lazily, the drug starting to settle into his system, making him lean back into his pillows as he got progressively more and more mellow. "I just wanna have everything…. done… for the… the… ahhh.."

"The baby?" smiled Teresa, seeing a faraway look come over Jane as the sedative slowed his thinking.

"Yeah… him…" smiled Patrick softly. He reached out for Teresa's hands and held them both in his, not wanting to lose contact.

"You look wonderful tonight my dear…" he mumbled.

"It's still daytime Patrick" said Lisbon, enjoying his mellow confusion.

"Yup…. daytime…. morning time…. night time… time for sushi… time for love…" he babbled to her with a goofy grin. "Know what I have time for Lishbon?" he slurred.

"Let me guess…" she grinned, leaning into him.

"Shome luuvin'" he moaned, wanting what he couldn't actually accomplish in his current state.

"Some loving? How's this?" Teresa asked him, giving him a deep and sensual kiss. Jane reciprocated but not with the usual enthusiasm he would have provided if not drugged.

"Mmmm… nice" he whispered, keeping his eyes closed while grinning broadly. "Again?'

"Again" replied Teresa happily, planting another soft kiss on his lips. When she pulled away, his eyes remained closed.

"Jane?" she waited for a response. "Jane? Are you still awake?"

"Huh? What? oh… for sure…" he breathed softly, more dozing than alert now. "Wide awake and ready for action" he suggested, though not really awake or ready for anything except a nap.

Teresa laughed softly and ran her hand through his soft curly hair. Jane smiled in pleasure. He had a wonderful feline quality about himself when he was truly relaxed and enjoying physical contact. Jane had led an almost monastic life after Angela was killed, so now that he had a physical relationship with the woman he loved deeply, he revelled in the simple pleasure of touching and being touched. Massaging his body had always been a fun thing to do as Teresa enjoyed watching his responses as much as he enjoyed the massage itself. She continued to run her fingers through his hair until the door opened and an orderly and nurse Penny entered the room.

"How are you doing Mr. Jane?" Penny asked him, leaning over his bed and checking on him. "Ready for your surgery?"

"Mmmm… ready …. steady…. go…" he mumbled, away in his own comfortable world.

"He's ready alright!" smiled Teresa, as the nurse disconnected his pain pump and attached his IV pole to his bed. As the orderly jolted the bed forward Jane opened his eyes in alarm, his brain immediately going to fight or flight response. Teresa leaned over and reassured him it was Ok, she was still there and no one was kidnapping him. His sleepy brain calmed down when he saw her smiling face, knowing it had to be true. Teresa walked beside the bed as the orderly and Penny rolled Patrick out of his room and over to the patient elevator. A slight chill hit Lisbon as the memory of his kidnapping hit her hard, as this is how he was taken just days ago. Try as she might to fight it, a sick feeling came over her even though she had just assured Jane that everything was alright. She had some healing to do too she realized. Looking up Teresa saw Dr. Stanton approaching. Dr. Stanton must have seen her apprehension, because he stayed with them until they reached the OR doors.

"He'll be alright Mrs. Jane. He is safe and well taken care of. You can wait just around the corner and Dr. Davidson will come out and tell you when the surgery is finished."

Teresa thanked him for his kindness and she found the waiting room, seeing Cho sitting there already, two hot coffees at the ready. She took hers gratefully and then the waiting began.

XXXXX

Patrick roused himself when the large double doors of the OR swallowed up his bed. Teresa was no longer by his side, nor Dr. Stanton. He looked up into the face of an unknown orderly and felt a shard of fear hit his heart. He was too groggy to intellectualize his situation and was going on pure emotion. His heart rate sped up and he became agitated, trying to sit up and get out of the bed. Dr. Davidson had been informed of Jane's PTSD symptoms and so was alarmed to see his patient now acting out in fear in his OR suite. Dr. Davidson told everyone in the room to stop what they were doing and he approached Jane's side, putting his hand on Jane's shoulder while Jane grabbed the front of the doctor's surgical gown.

"Mr. Jane, it's Dr. Davidson. You are safe. The orderly was just bringing you into the operating room for me to fix your leg. Mr. Jane, do you understand what I am saying?" he asked, peering at Patrick, hoping he was awake enough to see the situation more clearly.

Jane looked up into the doctor's sincere face and then looked around the room, seeing nurses and technicians standing by his bed, waiting for the doctor to begin his work. Returning his gaze to the doctor, Jane nodded his head, yes, in response to the question. Yes, he did now understand where he was and yes, he understood he was safe. He felt foolish and slow, the drugs making his thought processes sluggish.

"Yesss…. ok… sorry" he mumbled, looking around for the orderly who had frightened him. "I just…. the orderly took me…" he tried to explain, but the words were not flowing out the way he hoped they would.

"Don't apologize Mr. Jane, I understand your concerns. You will be well taken care of and your wife is right outside that door" Dr. Davidson said, pointing towards the double doors. "Would you like one of my nurses to ask your wife to stand in the doorway so you can see her for yourself?"

Jane glanced over to the door and nodded yes, yes, he wanted to see Teresa, to believe she was there and no one was lying to him. A nurse took her cue from the doctor and opened the door a crack, motioning for Teresa to come forward.

"Can you just look into the room and assure your husband that you and he are safe? He got a little confused and frightened for your welfare Mrs. Jane."

Teresa stepped forward and just peeked into the room, showing her face to Jane.

"I'm right here Patrick, and Cho is with me. We will stay right here until you wake up OK? You are safe Patrick and no one will take you ever again" she told him, hoping he understood her despite his sleepy state.

Patrick smiled at seeing and hearing her, and visibly relaxed, dropping back against the bed and letting go of the doctor's gown. The doctor stayed by Jane's side as an oxygen mask pumping anaesthetic was placed on Patrick's face. The doctor changed gloves and gowns and began his procedures.

"Just breathe normally and relax Mr. Jane, relax and let yourself go to sleep. When you wake up, you will be in the recovery room and your wife will be with you" he said as he watched Jane's eyes flicker and finally, close tightly, the anaesthetic flooding his system. Jane fell into that deep and dreamless void that anaesthetic delivers, all sense of time and danger completely absent from his mind. What seemed like a moment later, he gradually became aware of noise and footsteps, of a cool hand on his forehead and a cold stethoscope on his chest. Two fingers pressed on his wrist seeking his pulse and another body pressed up against his as he became aware of someone moving a warm blanket over him. Patrick wanted them all to go away, he was trying to sleep and all this fussing was making it hard to stay asleep!

"Mr. Jane, wake up! Wake up Patrick!" a strange voice ordered him. 'No, don't want to…' he thought lazily, 'don't have to'.

"Patrick, wake up sweetie. Can you open your eyes for me?" he heard, a very familiar voice asking him nicely to obey her command. Was that Teresa? Why was she waking him up when clearly he was sleeping in late today. Then Patrick tried to move his legs and a thrum of pain shot up his right knee into his thigh. His eyes flew open and he looked into Teresa's smiling face. His eyes fell shut again.

"Wake up Patrick, the operation is over. How do you feel?" she asked.

Jane tried to move and was instantly sorry.

"Owww!" he moaned, the fresh incision and stitches telling him to stay still. His eyes opened slowly again and he looked around the room, seeing other beds and nursing staff going around tending to other OR patients gradually waking from their surgeries. Now he knew where he was, and understood why he was in pain. The oxygen mask on his face impeded his speech but he wanted to talk to Lisbon.

"Hurts…" he said quietly. A nurse came over when she saw that he was awake and checked his temperature and respirations.

"You're doing just fine Mr. Jane. How is the pain level? From 1 to 10, how is the pain in your knee?" she asked.

Patrick considered this in his foggy state and had to come up with an answer. A good honest one.

"8" he said, hoping for some relief.

"Ok, we can help with that" he heard a voice say, as Teresa put her cool hand on his face. He turned towards her and smiled, happy to have her so near. The surgery was over! And soon he could go home! His mind was almost fully awake and he was putting it all together now. A moment later a nurse approached with a syringe filled with a pain medication. As soon as it hit his IV the relief flooded through his body and he stopped fighting the pain. He relaxed back into his flat pillow and grinned at his wife, as a wave of peace washed over him. A few minutes later and he was dozing again. When he woke up next, he was back in his room, Teresa and Cho by his side.

Teresa stepped up to his bed and kissed his face, while Cho grasped his hand and squeezed it solidly. That was a big show of emotion for the stoic Korean, and Patrick smiled at the feel of his warm large hand.

"Hi" said Teresa, smiling down at her husband.

"Hi" he replied, smiling back, warm and cozy under his flannel sheets, his leg no longer screaming in anger at being sliced open.

"How's it going?" asked Cho.

"S'good, good…" Jane whispered, getting his bearings, seeing the familiar room again.

"The doctor said the surgery was successful and your knee should work just fine after your recuperate and do your therapy. We can go home very soon Patrick!" beamed Teresa.

"Can't wait!" he replied, the idea of home so tantalizing he wanted it right now. Home had been such an abstract idea to him for years and years, so now that he shared one with the woman he loved he couldn't wait to get back there and just be….

"Can I get you anything Jane? Books? Magazines?" Cho asked.

"Books, your choice. And tea!" he added, to Cho and Teresa's amusement. Some things never change.

"You got it. I'll leave you two alone and bring those in later. Take it easy Jane!" Cho said and he made his way to the door.

"Bye… thanks Cho" both Jane and Lisbon called out to him as the door slowly closed.

"Are you OK?" Teresa asked Jane, smoothing his hair and caressing his cheek.

"I am now. I got a scare in the operating room. So silly… the orderly scared me when I was half asleep. I thought it was happening again" Jane admitted with some sheepish feelings.

"That's perfectly understandable Jane. I had a moment of fear myself. We both have to learn how to trust strangers again. But we can't live in fear. We have to be the people we used to be again. I'll help you, and you can help me" Teresa told him. He reached up and put his palm on her face, loving her more than he had words to express.

"With you, I can do it. Just be patient with me OK?" he said quietly.

"I'm in no rush. Let's just get you well and we will face that together in a few days. Cho has the name of someone he says is a great counsellor. If he likes this person, that's good enough for me" suggested Teresa.

"Me too" agreed Jane. Teresa pulled up a chair and stayed with Patrick until visiting hours ended and she was encouraged to go home to rest. When she was gone, Patrick fell into a deep sleep and let the cares of the last two weeks slip away. He was ready to put them away for good in rooms in his memory palace where he hoped one day, to throw away the key that opened those particular doors.

XXXXXXX


	41. One Step at a Time

**Thank you for all of reviews, much appreciated. Guest reviews are also welcome! One more chapter after this one and we are done!**

 **Disclaimer: Bruno Heller owns the Mentalist and I make no money writing these stories!**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 41 One Step at a Time

Teresa went home to her cabin by the pond, seeing her house with new eyes, eyes that appreciated every single nail, plank of wood and stroke of paint that her husband had put into the old cabin. He had turned a wreck into a cozy house for their growing family. As Teresa got ready for bed, she gathered up Patrick's shirt from the back of a chair and inhaled his fragrance, before putting it in the wash. Just the scent of him made her heart race. Soon, so very soon, she would be able to hold him all night long, and be held in his strong arms. And when their son was born, they would take care of him together. She felt overwhelmed with the intensity of her emotions, so deep and raw and fragile after all they had suffered in the last two weeks. But she was ready to put it behind her, and help Patrick do the same thing. Their house was roomy, but not big enough to accommodate the ghosts of Katarina and her evil accomplices.

Setting her alarm so that she would not oversleep, she finally went to bed and looked forward to seeing Patrick tomorrow. She hoped he was sleeping well tonight, not in too much pain and unafraid. Small steps to his peace of mind would have to be taken every day from now on, but she believed with all her heart he would soon be the confident and cocky man she had fallen in love with so long ago.

XXXXX

Patrick was dozing lightly in his private room when the door opened and Penny came in to check up on him. She approached his bed quietly, not wanting to startle him. She checked his temperature and blood pressure, checked his knee for signs of swelling or infection under the bandages, but all seemed to be going well. As she was checking his lungs with her stethoscope he opened his eyes, peering up into hers with a lazy comprehension of who she was.

"Good morning Mr. Jane!" she chirped, 'How are you feeling this morning?"

Patrick gave his answer some thought and realized he didn't feel too badly at the moment, until he tried to move his leg, then he was jolted out of his cozy state of sleepiness.

"Oww! Feeling good except for the knee!" he admitted. "Feels like it's pretty angry with me right about now!"

Penny listened sympathetically. "Well that's to be expected. The doctor had to do a lot of repairs and the inside of your knee is very tender and sore. But give yourself a few days and you will be surprised at how much better it will feel."

"If you say so… when will I be up and walking?" he asked, not savouring using crutches or a cane for long.

"Give your knee time to settle down, right now it's sore from all the cutting and stitches, but Dr. Davidson will be in soon and he can let you know when you can put weight on it again. Then physio will begin. It will be hard work but you will be surprised at how quickly your knee will begin to regain its' flexibility."

"Ok. So crutches for a while…" he thought out loud His concern was not for himself, but rather for Teresa. He wanted to be able to walk and help her as much as possible when their son arrived, which would be any day now. But there was nothing Jane could do to speed things up, so he would have to be creative in his approach to caring for the baby. As Penny was finishing up her examination, the door opened and another nurse brought in his breakfast tray, with real food on it! A fruit cup, oatmeal, toast and jam, tea! A meal for the gods after all those days without any food at all! Jane was delighted at the variety in front of him, not willing to complain about anything at the moment. He tucked into his food and savoured every bite of it, draining his tea even though it was generic and bland, but it was still tea! A half hour later his food was gone and he was getting ready for a good wash, with the help of a nurse. Tomorrow Teresa could help him at home. That thrilled Jane, knowing that it would be more cuddling than washing, but that was fine with him! A nurse appeared with a large basin of water and Jane proceeded to wash most of himself, with help on his back and legs from the nurse. After drying off and changing into fresh pajamas, Jane felt like a new man. He just had time to lay back and read some of a book that Cho had left for him when Dr. Davidson came in, followed by some student doctors.

Dr. Davidson approached the bed and introduced his assembled students, asking Jane if he minded the students observing the examination of his knee. Jane was delighted to assist and had to reel in his natural inclination to be a show-off. Instead he did everything he was asked, but did not enjoy it when the doctor moved his knee up and down, testing the flexibility in his joint. A loud hiss of pain escaped Jane's mouth before he could catch himself, but Dr. Davidson did not think anything of it.

"Sorry Mr. Jane, but we have to move your knee every day now to keep it from seizing up. You should start physio within a few days, not longer, to get your knee working again. A nurse will be in shortly to teach you how to use crutches, and once your physical therapist is sure your knee is ready, we will do away with the crutches and you can use a cane. Sound good?"

"Peachy…" Jane said with little enthusiasm. How could he hold a baby if he was using crutches? The doctor finished his work and the assembled group left Jane's room, with one or two of the students taking a last look at the man who had been through so much. His story was well known now over the news media and they knew what he had suffered. Jane fell back against his pillow and waited to see what was coming next. There was a small tap on his door and Teresa's sweet face appeared.

"Are you decent?" she asked saucily.

"Unfortunately, yes" smiled Patrick. "Come over here!" he grinned, waving Teresa in through the door.

After giving her a large kiss, Jane relayed the doctor's news to Teresa, and pointed out his misgivings about being not being able to help her around the house.

"I've got a solution for you" Teresa smiled. "I have rented a compact wheelchair that you can use for the first little while until you are steady on your feet. When you aren't holding the baby, you should be up and walking with crutches and then a cane, but if you pick up the baby or help me in the night, use the wheelchair and the baby can rest on your knees. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good to me!" Jane agreed, now imagining scooting around the cabin with his son across his broad lap while he pushed the wheelchair. It would only be for a short time but it eliminated a problem he had been concerned with.

"I've also set up a first meeting with the counsellor that Cho recommended. You should only need to see him for two or three months at the most, less if you make rapid progress. Are you OK with that?" Teresa asked, concerned Jane's pride would now cause him to reject this help for his PTSD.

"Much as I would prefer to keep my thoughts to myself, I don't want to be afraid of every door that opens, or strangers approaching me too quickly. I don't want to freak out when I am holding our son, just because someone scares me. I need this, I recognize that…. so thank you… the sooner I go the sooner I get myself back" he said with some chagrin.

"Thank you Patrick. It's a lot to ask of you after all you're still going through, but I will help you every step of the way. We are a team." Teresa assured him.

"Yes we are" smiled Patrick. "Wanna give your team member another kiss?" he asked cheekily, a smile breaking his face into sunshine.

Teresa leaned in and gave him a long and loving kiss, her hair smelling like lavender and roses. Jane inhaled deeply and ran his hands through her dark hair, savouring the assault on his senses. He was a deeply physical man, and missed being with his wife so much. The countdown to going home was loudly ticking in his brain. As he and Teresa chatted and planned out his return to the cabin, the door opened and Penny came in with a sleek pair of crutches. The design of these tools had improved so much over the years and these looked like something out of Star Wars.

"Hello again! Are your ready to try standing up Mr. Jane?" Penny came over to the bed and said hello to Teresa.

"Already? A bit soon isn't it?" said a worried Jane, as he was feeling quite intimidated by the prospect of actually standing after being bedridden for so long.

"The sooner the better. You don't have to put any weight on your right leg yet, but you need to get up and get moving. The longer you lie down the weaker you get, so today is the day!" she assured him. Penny came around to side of the bed and lowered the railing, helping Jane to sit up all the way, then showed him how to swing his legs over the edge of the bed. The jostling on his bad knee made him wince in pain, but he was determined to do as Penny asked. The pain meds the nurse had given him at breakfast were not fully in his system yet, so he was feeling very sore and useless at the moment.

The nurse demonstrated how to use the crutches, how to go up and down stairs, and how to get up to a standing position from a chair or bed. Jane had no idea it was so complicated using crutches, but Penny impressed upon him the need to do it right, or risk falling down. So, having had the pep talk, it was time to give it a try. Penny and Teresa each held onto Patrick and guided him up to a standing position, balanced on his left leg. Penny got the crutches under Jane's hands and encouraged him to just stand and get his bearings. Jane was surprisingly dizzy standing up for the first time in more than a week, his loss of weight and general weakness catching up with him.

"Take your time, there's no hurry. Are you feeling light-headed?" asked the nurse.

"Just a bit… feels odd…" Patrick admitted.

"OK, put your head down if necessary. Give it a minute and you should soon feel less dizzy."

Patrick did as Penny suggested and a minute or two later his head started to clear. His general weakness was a shocker to him as he had felt much better just lying back in bed, but standing, that took much more energy. When he felt ready, he gave Penny a bright smile and straightened his shoulders to start again.

"Let's keep going, I want to do this today" he said with determination. He took a deep breath and shook his head to clear it, giving Teresa a small grin for her sake, as she looked so worried for him.

"Once you feel like you have your balance, can you swing out your leg and then move forward on your crutches like I showed you?" Penny asked. While the two women held onto him, Patrick took his first step forward, and managed to stay upright while landing back on his good leg. A large smile broke out on his face and he took another step. He kept it up, until he had traversed the room and was near the door. Now he had to figure out how to turn around and go back where he began. Penny had to show him how to do that, as it presented some challenges. Patrick had never considered the mechanics of walking on one leg and two crutches, but he now had discovered it is not as easy as you would imagine! Taking his time to turn around, he now faced his bed and slowly made his way back, arriving with a triumphant smile on his face and perspiration beading on his forehead. That was the most work he had done physically since he had run away from Katarina's farm! His ribs were well on their way to being completely healed but walking with crutches made them ache again. He happily relinquished the crutches and with help from Teresa, he swung his legs back up into the bed and fell back, tired out from his workout. Both Teresa and Penny were smiling at him, pleased at his efforts.

"I want you to rest Mr. Jane. That's enough walking for now. I'll come back later and we can practice walking this afternoon after you have had a chance to gather your strength again. You did very well your first time up!" Penny praised him. Although he felt like he was 5 years old, the praise did make Patrick feel good. He had been up and walking! A big step towards his normal life! Penny left them alone and Teresa and Patrick visited for the next hour, until Teresa had to go and have a checkup with her obstetrician. Jane used that time to doze and look forward to his next meal. His appetite had come roaring back and he hoped to put back the weight and muscle he had lost during his sojourn in Maine.

His next meal didn't disappoint him either, although under different circumstances he would have considered it horrid. Now he just wanted protein, carbs, fats and sweets. His stomach growled with appreciation as the food was swallowed with gusto. Just as Patrick was finishing it all off with a cup of juice and a large pain pill, a rap on his door revealed the smiling face of his friend Cho, closely followed by Wylie. Patrick waved them in and pushed his bed tray off to the side. Cho carried a bag from Patrick's favourite bakery downtown and Wylie had coffees and a rich dark cup of tea for Jane. Patrick couldn't restrain himself and opened the bag to find cannoli and tarts, too many for just himself.

"We figured the hospital food must be pretty boring, so this is to hold you over until you get home and some get some great take-out" smiled Wylie.

"Save some of those for Teresa or I'll be in trouble" said Cho, acting serious.

"Ok, will do. Help yourselves too!" suggested Jane, holding out the bag while slurping up the cream in his cannoli. There were a quiet few minutes while these friends just enjoyed the rich Italian delicacy, and then they all settled back for a visit.

"I hear you're going home tomorrow Jane!" said Wylie, eyeing the pastry bag hungrily.

"So it seems. And not a minute too soon" answered Jane, happy to be able to plan for that happy moment.

"Teresa came to me and asked for the name of the counsellor I suggested. Hope you don't mind" said Cho, watching Jane's reaction.

"No…. it's fine… she told me and I am grateful Cho. I am feeling better already, but I'm just one good scare away from falling apart… so I need to talk to your friend."

'He's not actually my friend" said Cho. "He was my counsellor when I came back from Afghanistan."

There was a pause in the conversation as this intimate confession hit both Wylie and Jane.

"I didn't know…that you needed to see a counsellor" said Jane. "Was it bad?"

Cho sighed deeply. How to answer? How bad is bad? War can't be good, at least not for normal people. Hell yes, it was bad for him.

"I came home pretty pumped up by the experience Jane. I hunted people for weeks, months, then it turned into years. You can't help but be changed by it. I came home in better shape than some of my buddies. A few of them never re-integrated back into their civilian lives. One of my friends killed himself. So yeah, it was bad, but I got lucky and got counselling before I forgot how to ask for help. Glad you're doing the same Jane."

"Thanks Cho."

"Everyone at work says hello and wants you to get better soon" said Wylie, easing the tension in the room.

"That's my plan. I think I've had enough of hospitals now to last me a very very long time. The next time I come into a hospital it will be to see my son born."

"So, like, any minute now?" teased Cho.

"I hope not that soon! His room isn't finished yet. The blue paint is still on the floor!" groused Jane.

"Ah… no it isn't actually! A couple of my friends from IT came out to the house the other day and we finished the room. Teresa let us in. It's ready for your little guy" smiled Wylie.

Jane broke out in broad smile, happy to have such good friends looking out for him and his family. "Thank you for that! I guess Teresa can go into labour now!"

"Well not today anyway!" Teresa announced from the door as she came into the room.

"No baby today? What's the holdup?" Jane asked.

"Our son is too comfortable in here!" she grinned, pointing at her belly. "But any day now, it could happen. Not tomorrow I hope, I want to get you home first!"

She came in and hugged Cho and Wylie, then leaned over to kiss Jane.

"Everything OK with our little boy?" asked Jane, concerned should anything happen so close to the birth.

"The doctor says he is strong and healthy and we can expect him to arrive very soon. So I just have to put some things away at home, then you come home tomorrow, and then… it's baby time!"

"Any names yet Teresa?" asked Wylie, excited to be a part of this happy event.

Teresa looked at Patrick and smiled, not wanting to reveal anything yet.

"Let's just say we have eliminated some names and have it down to a reasonable number of possibilities" said Jane, knowing they had not reached a consensus on the name at all.

"We'll let you know when we know" agreed Teresa. She was leaning towards an old name, maybe biblical, while Jane favoured a more theatrical, masculine name, to counter the soft last name. He had endured a lifetime of teasing over his feminine surname. The next hour was spent visiting and then it was time for Penny to get Patrick back up on his feet again. Cho and Wylie left and Teresa stayed to help. Once again Jane launched himself off the bed and held onto the crutches for dear life. This time he was actually more wobbly than he had been this morning. It was a combination of tiredness and trying to do too much too soon. After a near fall, he was very firmly told to slow down and take it easy. After traversing the room twice, Penny relented and let Jane rest, but this time he sat up in a chair. He needed to spend more and more time up and not lying in bed. This time Penny left his crutches in the room so he could get around on his own with Teresa's help. By the time he went to bed that night, he was much more proficient with them and had even used them to get himself to the bathroom, a blessed bit of privacy that he was desperately in need of.

Teresa helped him get settled for the night, a palpable sense of excitement passing between them. This would be their last night of separation and tomorrow he would go home with her to start his life over again. They couldn't stop grinning as she kissed Patrick one last time before she left for her own bed. Just a few more hours!

XXXXXX

Teresa was up with the sun, excited. Today was the day! She had taken home an FBI SUV as it would be easier for Patrick to get in and out of it. They would soon have to decide what kind of vehicle to buy to accommodate the baby seat and all of the various baby gear that invariably ended up in a car or van. Teresa had filled the fridge with healthy foods that Patrick loved and planned on ordering Thai take-out once they got settled later today. This would be a day of quiet celebration. No matter how hard she had tried, Katarina Nemic had not destroyed the Jane family, only herself. Teresa made up a fresh bed and placed flowers on the kitchen table, making the cabin as inviting as possible. Jane hadn't seen it for some time, and when he had left it before his kidnapping in the tea shop, it looked messy and unfinished. Now everything was complete and in order. Teresa pushed some furniture back and made room for Jane's wheelchair and his crutches so he wouldn't trip over anything as he learned how to navigate through the house. After a good half hour of work, Teresa was satisfied that the cabin was as ready as it was going to be and it was time to leave for St. Marks.

Rush hour traffic had eased and Teresa pulled into the parking lot close to the entrance of the hospital. Cho had arranged to meet her there and would help to bring everything they needed down to the car for the trip home. Together they took the elevator up to Patrick's room for the last time, Teresa beaming in anticipation. When they arrived at his room, Patrick was being examined by Dr. Stanton, the boy wonder. Unbeknownst to Teresa, Jane had arranged to teach Dr. Stanton some sleight of hand and simple card tricks to amuse his pediatric patients at Halloween and Christmas. He had also volunteered to come in and help. Jane loved kids and if he could amuse them when they were stuck in the hospital on two of the biggest days of the year, he would be glad to do it. He and Stanton had bonded over their love of being just outside of what was expected of them, a natural fit.

Dr. Stanton examined Patrick's knee, looking for any sign of hotness indicating an infection, but was pleased at how cool and clear his incisions were. There was no reason to keep Jane in for another minute and he would happily sign Jane out of the hospital. As Teresa approached the bed, the doctor turned and smiled at seeing her so happy.

"Can I take him home Dr. Stanton?' she asked, knowing the answer.

"You sure can. Just keep him out of trouble and don't let him over-extend himself the first few days at home. Once his physio starts you will see a big improvement in his flexibility and soon Mr. Jane should be walking again."

Turning back to Patrick, Dr. Stanton passed him his business card and winked, knowing they would see each other soon to practise their magic tricks together.

"Ok, I guess you want to blow this pop stand! I'll just let you get dressed and then come and find me Mrs. Jane. I'll sign his release papers and then you can go. Penny will bring a wheelchair up and take Mr. Jane down to the entrance." Dr. Stanton said, turning to leave. Cho had been waiting by the door and nodded at Jane.

"I'll be waiting outside the door. Tell me when you need me" he smiled.

"Will do. Give me a few minutes" Patrick replied, eager to put clothes on again, the first time in a long time. Teresa had brought a loose fitting pair of cargo pants that would fit over Jane's bandaged knee, and a long sleeved t-shirt . Comfort would have to trump style for a while. Jane wiggled his way into his underwear, accompanied by the expected salacious comments from Teresa, then managed to get his pants and top on. Comfy socks and shoes followed. By the time he was done, he was happy to sit still. Everything was a big effort, but he was beaming with happiness nonetheless. Five minutes later there was a knock on the door and Penny stuck her head in.

"Ready for your ride downstairs?"

"I was ready hours ago!" replied Jane, getting himself up with his crutches. Cho came in and helped Jane into the wheelchair and took his crutches along with other items that had accumulated in his room. Teresa found Dr. Stanton and said her goodbyes. She came back to find Patrick waiting in the hall for her. She walked with Patrick, holding his hand as they reached the elevator and took it downstairs to the main entrance. Cho brought up the car and with help from Penny, got Jane into the SUV and his belongings stowed in the back. Teresa hugged Cho tightly, loving his friendship and encouragement. Friends like him were so rare and she treasured him. Cho leaned in the vehicle and shook Jane's hand.

"Take it easy Jane. Listen to Teresa and get well."

"Thanks for everything Cho. Come and see us when you're free. We'll break open some bubbly to celebrate the end of this whole affair" smiled Jane.

"Will do buddy. See you soon."

Penny and Cho waved as Teresa pulled the car out of the driveway and merged into Austin traffic. Patrick settled back into his seat and reached over to take Teresa's right hand.

"Take me home Teresa" he said with love forming every word.

She smiled back at him, her heart singing in happiness.

"I'm already home my love. Already home."

XXXXXX


	42. Happily Ever After

**Disclaimer: Bruno Heller owns the Mentalist and I make no money writing these stories!**

 **This is the final chapter in this long story. I have really enjoyed writing it and the response has been wonderful. Along the way I have met, through Private Messages, some wonderful people. Rosepeony, LouiseKurylo, Shoesarecool, Thorntons, Clover81, and any others that maybe I have missed, your comments are wonderful, informative, and encouraging. Guest reviewers, thank you as well for taking the time to let me know that you enjoyed this story. This is only my second story and I have once again, learned so much during the process of writing. Hopefully in the future, I will find another story to tell. Au revoir mes amis….**

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Chapter 42 Happily Ever After

The ride home to the cabin by the pond was quiet, with Jane holding Teresa's hand most of the way while he reclined in his seat with his eyes closed. The excitement of the morning had worn him out but he was relaxed and content, feeling free and safe. His wife and baby were safe and by his side, and he was going home. Nothing in the world could be better. Teresa watched him out of the corner of her eye as she drove, happy to have him out of the hospital at last. This was the first day on their trip back to normal life. She thought he might be dozing, but as they came up the curving laneway and approached the cabin, Jane sat up straighter and beheld the beautiful sight in front of him. Their cabin looked just the same, but the front porch was festooned with pots of flowers and a large Welcome Home sign hung over the front door. He turned to Lisbon beaming a huge smile but she was as surprised as he was. Lisbon grinned as she saw the surprise their friends had pulled off for them.

"Oh this is so nice! Wow, so beautiful!" she said, turning to Jane and seeing the same reaction on his face. "We have wonderful friends!"

"Yes we do. Very thoughtful" Jane replied, touched by their efforts. They pulled the car up close to the house so Jane wouldn't have to walk too far on his crutches. He had not walked on uneven grass so far with his bad leg, so this was going to be a challenge.

"Shall I get the wheelchair to make it easier for you Patrick?" she asked.

'No, I need to get around on my own as much as possible. Let me try to get in the door with these" he indicated, pointing to the crutches. "We can use the chair later if need be."

"OK, let me help you…" Lisbon said as she helped him out of the SUV and handed him his crutches. She walked beside him as he slowly made his way across the grass and up to the steps. They made an interesting pair: a man hobbling along unsteadily on crutches supported by a very very pregnant tiny woman. It would have made a great photo. With her arm to guide him, he took the steps one at a time, and eventually reached the porch, sweating from the effort but happy with his success. Teresa stepped up and opened the door, letting Jane go in first. As soon as he came into the living room, he stopped and gazed around, seeing his house, his refuge. Teresa waited for him to take it all in, and then he turned to her, a smile lighting up his face as he gingerly stepped over to the sofa. Lowering himself down carefully, he put his crutches on the floor and swung his legs up onto the sofa and reclined, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Home sweet home" he murmured, running his hands through his hair and snuggling down to get comfy. There was nothing to compare to being home on your own sofa after days in a hard hospital bed.

"Tea?" Lisbon asked, knowing his answer already.

"Mmmm… sounds good" Jane mumbled.

Teresa placed a warm kiss on his forehead and disappeared into the kitchen, to make a pot of Jane's favourite tea. Once the kettle was on the stove, she returned and sat on a floor cushion next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Welcome home Patrick" she whispered, turning to gaze into his eyes. "I missed you. The house just wasn't the same without you. It was so empty and cold. I felt like all the life had gone out of it."

"I missed you too, you have no idea how much" he answered as he turned to study her face. He lay back and just enjoyed the familiarity of his cabin. Not too long ago he feared he would never see this house or his wife again.

"Did you know that you saved me?" he said quietly to Teresa.

"Me? I saved you? How?"

Jane stared at Teresa, loving her closeness. "When Katarina had me all those days, the only way I could keep going and not give up was to think about you and the baby, this house and our life together. That had to be my reality, not what she was doing to me at the moment. If I didn't have you…..if I didn't have us…. I wouldn't have lasted as long as I did. There were times when it was so difficult to stay hopeful that I would make it out of there alive, but then I would think of you. I had to keep going. It hurt me to know that you were here alone, worried about me and not knowing where I was. That killed me" he whispered softly.

Lisbon got up and held her husband in a warm embrace, so sad that he had suffered so greatly, but proud of the strength and forbearance he had summoned to survive his torturers. She loved Patrick so deeply that life without him was unthinkable….

Lisbon gave herself a shake and realized she was verging on the maudlin in her thinking. They were both safe, had great friends and their baby was due any minute. These were what she needed to dwell on.

"We never stopped looking for you Patrick. Everyone worked to find clues, anything that would be the key to finding where Katarina was hiding. Wylie was a genius in finding an image of Laila reflected in a mirror in a store across the street from the tea shop. Pure genius. And guess who gave us information that really helped?" she asked.

Patrick had no idea who Lisbon meant and he shrugged his shoulders, unable to guess.

"Erica Flynn and Jan Nemic. We went to see both of them in prison and both gave us information that led us to Maine. Then with Laila's help, we found the farmhouse. I guess Jan really did want to put his sister away for good if he was willing to help us find you!" she said in amazement.

"Huh…. I never would have expected him to help me after what happened in Beirut… strange…"

"Jane, that whole family was strange. I'm just glad we're done with them from now on!"

The kettle screaming from the kitchen interrupted her thoughts so she got up to make Jane his tea. While she was in there, she heard shuffling behind her and turned to see Jane hobble into the kitchen. He took a chair and sat down carefully, glad to be able to move around from room to room. He smiled at the flowers on the table, a nice touch by Teresa. His knee was starting to ache so he fished out a pain pill from his pocket and laid it by his teacup.

"I'll be glad when I don't have to rely on these anymore" he admitted, not liking to take medicine for too long.

"You won't. Once the inside of your knee has healed you will feel much better. At least you're home and not cooped up in that dull hospital room anymore."

Jane nodded his head in agreement. Hospitals got very boring in a short period of time. "Did I hear you say we were ordering Thai take-out for supper tonight? Or did I dream that in a drug induced haze?" Jane asked, his eyes shining at the prospect of the spicy food.

"Yup, Thai it is, unless you want something else?"

"Oh no, Thai is fine with me." Jane took a long look around the room and noticed every little detail that he had worked on, each plank of wood on the floor, each cupboard and light fixture hanging in the new kitchen. He had turned his hand to this house with as much intensity as he used to put towards fleecing innocent rubes of their hard earned money. This was far more satisfying. As he watched Teresa pour the tea he noticed her eyes shut tightly for a moment as she sucked in her breath. She tried to hide her grimace, but he had seen it and was worried.

"What? What is it?"

Teresa shook her head and smiled. "Nothing...just a little pain. It's OK."

Jane looked at her with concern, but there was nothing he could do, because in the case of having babies, she was the boss. He studied her as she put the pot down and came back to sit with him. Another twinge hit her, but she said nothing. He sat up straighter and leaned over towards her.

"Are you in labour?" he dared to ask.

"I don't think so….. but I'm no expert on the subject. It's probably nothing" she ventured, hoping she was right. They needed at least one day together before the baby came.

Jane drank his tea and let his mind wander, concerns about his wife foremost in his mind. A thought occurred to him and after a few moments he looked up at Teresa as a question struck him.

"So tell me, how are we getting to the hospital if you go into labour? I can't drive with a bum leg, and you shouldn't drive while in labour. So, what do we do?" he asked reasonably.

So much of her time had been spent worrying about Patrick and his homecoming that Teresa had not figured out the mechanics of her own trip to the hospital! She looked at Jane like a deer in the headlights. He could see the answer in her face. She had no idea!

"Good question Patrick. I don't know." Now she looked worried. What would they do? Patrick couldn't bend his knee to depress the gas and brake pedals, so he was out as far as being the driver.

"We can't call Cho or Wylie… by the time they get here it might be too late. What can we do?" she asked Jane.

He nodded his head in agreement, his mind busy with finding a solution. He reached out and held Teresa's hand while he smiled and thought hard. "Give me a minute…"

While he sipped his tea he mulled the problem over in his brain. "Well, there are a couple of options open to us. We could move into a hotel close to the hospital and when you go into labour we can just take a cab over" he suggested.

"Yes, but for how long? What if I go over my due date by a couple of weeks? We can't live in a hotel for that long" Teresa objected. "What's your other suggestion?"

Jane had a gleam in his eye, and Teresa knew he had come up with something that he thought was perfect.

"How's this? Maybe we could ask Laila to move out here for the duration and when you go into labour, she could drive us both to the hospital. If my leg can bend enough for me to drive before the baby comes, then I will drive us and Laila can go back to her foster mother. But in the meantime, we have a guaranteed ride day or night" he beamed, thinking this a fine solution.

Teresa looked at him and had to admit, the idea had merit. She had wanted their time alone to really be time alone before the baby came, but she did need to know that they could get to the hospital in time.

"Where will she sleep Jane? If she even wants to come, she needs her own room."

'We'll ask her if she wants to do this, and if she says yes, I'll have a rental bed delivered and set up in the baby's room. She can stay until we bring the baby home, then we send back the bed and she carries on with her life. It may not even be necessary Teresa, but at least we have our bases covered" Jane said with enthusiasm. He smiled at his wife and she melted, knowing he needed to be assured that nothing could go wrong with her delivery.

"OK, sounds like a plan to me. But we need to contact her today. I don't know how long Junior here intends to stay inside his cocoon" she said, rubbing her large tummy.

"Good! Glad that's settled!" Jane said with finality. Now he could stop worrying about that important issue. Teresa got up and produced a menu for their favourite Thai restaurant. Together they chose their meal and ordered it for delivery later that day. In the meantime, Jane called Laila at her foster mother's house and made his proposal. Laila enthusiastically agreed, thrilled to be useful and trusted by Patrick and Teresa. She would come out tomorrow and bring school work with her that she needed to catch up on. Everyone would be taken care of! Next, Jane arranged for a single bed to be delivered to the cabin from a store in downtown Austin, a rental for an unspecified amount of time. That accomplished, he sat back and had nothing else to worry about. Now he could really relax.

Their Thai food arrived and was eaten with gusto, the exotic flavours and aromas thrilling to Patrick after such a long time with either no food or bland mush. This was what he had been looking forward to! By 9:30 that evening, his energy had run out and he desperately needed to go to bed. Teresa helped Patrick shower himself off with their hand held shower head, and he had fun squirting her from head to toe as well. When they were both thoroughly soaked, they took time to lovingly towel each other off, with hugs and kisses slowing down the whole process. Finally Patrick and Teresa made their way through the house and got themselves into bed. For the first time in a long time, they were able wrap themselves in each other's arms, and that is how they fell asleep, two bodies as one, love the glue that fastened them together.

XXXXX

The next morning, Laila fairly skipped through the house gathering together what she would need to take with her to Patrick's house. She felt honoured that he trusted her so much to come out and drive them to the hospital when Teresa's time came. Laila and her school room mate Mandy had had a wonderful reunion and spent all their time together when Laila had landed in Austin a few days ago. Mandy gave Laila the notes and study guides she needed to catch up with her lessons and so Laila had more than enough to keep her busy while she waited at the cabin for Teresa to go into labour. Her foster mother was fussing over her like a mother hen and although it was wonderful, Laila knew she would not be able to put up with it for too much longer, so this break at the Jane's house was a welcome respite. The next morning she said her goodbyes and headed out to the cabin. By the time she arrived at mid-morning, Teresa and Patrick were up and dressed and directing the moving men to place the bed in the baby's room. After helping Teresa make up the bed, Laila sat down to visit with Patrick, who had been smiling happily at all of the commotion in the house. As far as he was concerned, his son could come any time now. Everything was ready. Laila spent her days there either studying or walking the large property that surrounded the cabin. She wanted to give Teresa and Patrick plenty of time to be alone. Jane practised walking outside too, with either Teresa or Laila there with him to make sure he didn't stumble and fall. His physiotherapy sessions would start the next week, and he couldn't wait to get back on his own two feet. Time fairly zipped by, and while they eagerly awaited their son, Patrick and Teresa cherished these days that they could spend with each other before she went into labour. She was still on schedule and hoping not to be overdue. They jokingly made bets between the 3 of them as to when the baby would start to make his appearance. Teresa bet she would go into labour at night, Jane said mid-afternoon and Laila ventured it would be an early morning birth. One of them would soon be proven correct.

And so it happened, at 1:30 in the morning 4 days later. Teresa and Patrick had invited Cho, Wylie and some other friends from work over to the house for the promised pizza and beer. Laila was shy at first around so many FBI agents, but Teresa assured her that they considered her a friend and a hero for her actions in setting Jane free. The mood in the house was light and happy, and time passed quickly. Teresa was enjoying seeing her friends from work and was sorry when the evening had to come to an end. By the time the last guest left, Teresa was ready for a good night's sleep, but her baby had other ideas. Teresa was sound asleep with Patrick's arms wrapped around her belly when the first pain hit her. She didn't understand what it was at first, being so soundly asleep. She drifted along in her dreams until it happened again, 7 minutes later. She shifted her position to get more comfortable and then….it happened again! She opened her eyes and sat up, wondering if she had dreamed it or had something really been happening? She rolled over to get to sleep again and an even larger pain shot up her back and wrapped its' tentacles around her belly in a spasm that had her shout out in surprise. She looked at the clock and it was 7 minutes after the last pain. She didn't want to wake Patrick unnecessarily, but she decided to time the next pain, if one came at all.

As she watched the clock, another huge cramp constricted her tummy only 6 minutes later. She was in labour! Teresa turned to Patrick and shook his shoulder gently. He snorted and shuffled over to his other side, not understanding what she wanted. Teresa grinned to herself and tried again.

"Patrick…. wake up. Wake up Sweetie…."

"Hmph…." was the reply as his curly haired head was buried under his pillow.

"Patrick… wake up… it's baby time…" she said close to his ear. Still nothing.

"Patrick, the baby is coming. How about I just walk to the hospital by myself, OK? You stay home and sleep" she teased, to see if it got through to his sleepy brain.

A few moments passed, and then Jane shot straight up in the bed, turning to Teresa for confirmation of what he thought he had maybe just dreamed.

"Did you say you were walking to the hospital? Why? What's going on?" he asked in sleepy confusion.

Teresa was smiling broadly as she got out of bed. "Patrick, I think I'm in labour! It's baby time!" she announced to his shocked face.

"Are you sure? Are you in pain?" he grinned as he woke up quickly at the news. While he was talking he got up and grabbed his crutches to wobble his way to the closet and find something to wear.

"Yes I'm sure, I'm in labour. Get dressed and wake Laila up, while I get my bag and get ready" she suggested as she watched his flustered attempts to dress without falling over. He had occasionally used the wheelchair but he mostly used his crutches and was getting quite proficient with them. However, his excitement was making his movements a little wild and he feared he wouldn't make it out of the house without tipping over.

"Slow down Patrick, take it easy we'll get there in time. I'll go get Laila, you are a bit too wound up to do much right now" she grinned. Patrick agreed and managed to get his jeans on and pulled a sweater over his head and found his shoes. That was the most he could do in his current state of excitement.

"Ok, all dressed, ready to go… how about you?" he asked Teresa as Laila appeared in the hallway, already dressed.

"Ready. Let's get going. The pains are 5 minutes apart now.'"

Laila helped Teresa and Jane down the front steps and into the car, and soon they were off to the city, on their way to hospital. Jane had a goofy smile plastered on his sleepy face and Teresa just concentrated on her breathing, trying to stay in control of herself and her pain. He held her hand all the way into Austin, breathing each breath with her, keeping her calm.

Once they arrived at the hospital they were whisked up to the Maternity wing and Teresa was put into a labour room. Laila found a spot to wait and got comfortable for the duration of the labour. The night passed in a blur of pain and anticipation, with Jane giving Laila updates on Teresa's progress any chance he got. Laila in turn emailed updates to Cho, for him to find when he woke up. Patrick had been through this before, but it was many years ago and he relied on instinct when it came to how to soothe Teresa and keep her calm during the worst of her labour pains. He managed to get her to focus on her breathing and used his most hypnotic voice to keep her relaxed. He could have hypnotized her but he figured she would not appreciate it later when she found out what he had done. So, he gave up that idea. Teresa was a very determined mother and didn't complain at all during her labour. Despite her tiny frame, she actually was well built for labour and she delivered her son without any problems. By mid-morning the next day, Teresa had given birth to a beautiful baby boy, delicate and dark haired with blue eyes that would later turn to a mysterious sea green. His long fingers and even features, curly hair and sharp intellect came from his father and his beautiful face, sturdy body and wise heart came from his mother.

Jane sat by Teresa's bed holding his son, tears of joy streaming unreservedly down his face. His joy was immeasurable, his emotions almost more than he could manage. His tiny son, so pink and perfect, sucked on his little fingers while Jane beamed at Teresa. She lay back and rested, tired but beyond happy. They were a family, and nothing and no one would ever come between them again. They had survived so many evil people in their years together, and they had overcome every one of them. With love and will power that strong, Teresa knew they would have only the best years ahead of them.

Later that day Laila, Cho and Wylie dropped in to visit and give the baby gifts. The two new uncles melted when Jane let them hold the little boy. Cho was new to this but he loved being part of this inner circle. Wylie was just flustered by the whole event, not knowing what to do when it was his turn to hold the baby. Grace and Wayne sent their greetings via SKYPE and would come to visit as soon as they could get away. Laila held the baby and cried with joy that her friend Patrick had survived to see this day.

A day later Laila drove Teresa, Patrick and the baby home and then gathered her belongings, saying her goodbyes. She wanted to give them privacy and time to spend alone with their new son. She would return any time they invited her or if they needed a sitter. She felt like part of the family now.

As she opened the door, she turned back and took a final glance into the living room at the Jane family. Patrick sat on the sofa with his arm around Teresa while she held their son. It was a beautiful scene and she felt like an intruder watching them. She silently closed the door and left them to their very own happy ending.

XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX The End XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Thank you to everyone who reviewed this story and told me how much you enjoyed it. I have had many requests to keep this story going much longer. I do feel that the original story has run its' course. The continuing story of Jane's struggle with PTSD and the trial of Katarina and her men is not what this story was about, so I will not pursue it here. I have been asked by quite a few readers to write that story. I do not know much about PTSD, and in order to write about it, I would have to study up on it to do the story justice, and to honour those people out there who struggle with PTSD on a daily basis. I would not want to make light of it and tell the story badly. Perhaps when I feel up to that heavy challenge I will try to continue that part of Jane's journey to wellness, but right now, I will let it rest.**


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